Lohum Stakes Claim To Be First Outside China to Extract Pure Metallic Lithium

LOHUM, a producer of sustainable energy transition and battery materials has announced the recovery of pure Lithium metal, through recycling. This is  amongst the slew of initiatives by the firm comprising new closed-loop ecosystem achievements. LOHUM, through its integrated recycling, repurposing, and refining system claims to have become among the first five companies to globally produce lithium in its pure metallic form at scale. 

The firm adds that this innovation is the realization of over two years of R&D efforts by it. LOHUM hosted the first such demonstration in India at its Annual General Meeting 2023 on September 28 in Delhi, where it launched recycled lithium metal. This was followed by the first ‘Annual Energy Transition Gala’, which saw innovators from all across Indian and international net zero ecosystems.

Annual Energy Transition Gala

The discussions at the Gala were split into two rounds, heralding two perspectives. Starting off with Rajat Verma, Founder & CEO of LOHUM, who stated, “The world of energy is ever-changing, and rapid innovation is the key to capturing the global market. Pure Lithium metal produced via recycling, combined with India’s vast pool of materials talent, if channelized correctly, can make India a heavyweight alternative to China.”

This was followed by an industry panel discussion on the ‘The Global Challenges & Opportunities of the Energy Transition’. The Gala evening was concluded by author and motivational speaker Chetan Bhagat, who expressed his thoughts, “Little did I know that when I was talking about innovation in battery technology back in 2018, little did I know that an extremely promising startup called LOHUM had just been founded at the time. The groundbreaking progress of LOHUM’s tech R&D has made the production of pure Lithium metal in India a reality. I see a future ahead ripe with universal access to clean energy, affordability of clean technology, and energy security. For LOHUM, sustainability is not a greenwashing buzzword, but a plan of action and way of life.”

Lithium Landscape for India

Pure Lithium metal produced through recycling heralds many developments for India’s energy transition in the near future. It forges a path for India to become the global source of pure Lithium Metal, counterbalancing China’s current Lithium supply dominance. The pure Lithium metal has a wide variety of use cases ranging from EV batteries, consumer electronics batteries, aerospace, advanced metallurgy, medical and industrial compounds. 

LOHUM adds that it has brought the recycling of pure Lithium Metal, which is a key prerequisite for Lithium-air batteries. It has brought EV battery technologies, which are used in the size of a small backpack, and can power an EV for around 1000 Kilometres on a single charge. 

The firm has developed the ability to recycle and refine Lithium metal from battery waste as well as from ores, slag, and production scrap outside of China. 

Recently, LOHUM announced partnering with Nepal’s EV ecosystem. It also partnered with Vecmocon to accelerate second-life battery use and power 100,000 LIB-enabled EVs over two years with AI-powered Battery Management System (BMS) by determining battery residual value.