The pair has signed a memorandum of understanding and terms sheet that will see them assess the feasibility of working together for the staged development, construction and operation of the planned plant at the Hochst chemical park near Frankfurt.

 

The plant will take lithium chloride into higher-quality lithium hydroxide.

 

Nobian, which is owned by The Carlyle Group and GIC, is the fourth largest chlor-alkali producer in Europe, and has extensive electrolysis operational experience, using a process similar to that used in Vulcan's planned flowsheet.

 

The three-phase agreement covers the definitive feasibility study and the operation of a demonstration plant at Nobian's existing site at Hochst, near where Vulcan has secured ground for its plant.

 

In tandem with the trial plant, a third phase will assess design/engineering, construction, start-up and joint operation of the commercial plant.

 

The pair will also discuss offtake agreements, where the chlorine and hydrogen by-products produced by Vulcan could be delivered to Nobian via pipelines. 

 

Vulcan managing director Dr Francis Wedin said Nobian's experience would contribute to de-risking the planned scale-up and build-out of the Zero Carbon Lithium project in 2024.

 

The project would strip lithium from brine aquifers via geothermal wells in the Rhine Valley for use in the battery sector.