Aussie Firm, German Co. to Jointly Assess Green H2’s Use in Lithium Gen

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Australia’s Infinity Lithium Corp Ltd said on Monday it will collaborate with a unit of Germany’s thyssenkrupp AG to explore the use of green hydrogen in producing lithium.

The collaboration comes as lithium, an essential component of electric vehicles (EVs), is becoming an increasingly important metal, with EV demand surging globally as countries race to meet emission targets and move towards cleaner modes of transportation.

The firms will begin a pilot at a thyssenkrupp facility in Germany, with potential for the technology to be integrated into Infinity’s San Jose lithium project in Spain, the company said. While Europe is targeting 40 GW electrolyser capacity by the end of this decade, Germany in particular has set a goal of a 5 GW by 2030.

To produce green hydrogen, water electrolysers split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity. Multiple water electrolyser technologies exist today. Four of them in particular hold promise for use in the near future: alkaline, proton exchange membrane (PEM), solid oxide electrolyser cells (SOEC) and anion exchange membrane (AEM). Alkaline and PEM technologies represent all the installed capacity today, while SOEC and AEM are at an earlier stage in the research funnel, but hold the promise of improved performance.

At present, green hydrogen is recognised as a viable solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning away from fossil fuels for “hard-to-abate” sectors.

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The supply chain for hydrogen, however, is not yet fully developed. Several barriers, such as the high cost of green hydrogen compared to non-renewable alternatives and the lack of dedicated infrastructure, are still impeding hydrogen’s full contribution to the energy transition.

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Nevertheless, companies and governments are looking to capitalise on the growing hydrogen market. Australia’s Infinity Lithium signed a supply agreement in June with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution to supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide from the same Spanish lithium project.