Breakthrough process cuts lithium production costs by 10 percent or more through improved impurity rejection and reduced chemical use
ILiAD Technologies today announced the launch of ILiAD+, a patent-pending advancement in Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) that significantly improves impurity rejection while lowering capital and operating costs. Building on the company’s industry-leading ILiAD platform, the ILiAD+ process increases impurity rejection by more than 85 percent and improves the lithium-to-sodium equivalent ratio by over six times.
This leap in performance translates into substantial savings for lithium developers. ILiAD+ targets the most stubborn post-DLE impurities—boron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and manganese—minimizing the need for costly downstream processes like clarifiers and ion exchange. As a result, developers can reduce the use of reagents such as lime, hydrochloric acid (HCl), and sodium hydroxide (NaOH), while also cutting back on sludge disposal.
The enhanced impurity rejection and higher lithium-to-sodium ratio are expected to reduce downstream capital and operating costs by 10 percent or more. These improvements are critical to increasing the affordability and scalability of battery-grade lithium production.
The new process was recently validated on geothermal brine from the Salton Sea, where ILiAD’s sister company ESM ATLiS is advancing Project ATLiS, a 22,000-ton-per-year lithium hydroxide facility. The table below demonstrates the significant improvement in impurity rejection compared to previous ILiAD results. Given the complexity of geothermal brines, these results suggest broad potential for ILiAD+ across a range of global lithium resources.
“The key to effective DLE is the ability to selectively capture lithium while rejecting impurities from the feed brine,” said Samuel Moore, Chief Executive of ILiAD Technologies. “ILiAD was already one of the top-performing platforms in the industry, but ILiAD+ delivers a step change in performance. Once again, we are able to achieve results unique in the industry and, in doing so, making the promise of DLE a reality.”
Derek Benson, Chief Operating Officer of ESM, added, “The results achieved with ILiAD+ are stunning and beyond anything we thought possible with Direct Lithium Extraction. This new process will be a game-changer for developers like us as we look at total facility costs.”
ILiAD Technologies has a busy schedule of upcoming tests with the ILiAD+ process set to run on other lithium brines from the United States and across the world. “Geothermal brine is often considered one of the more challenging brines to work with and we are excited at the results we will see from other brines,” concluded CEO Samuel Moore.
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