Vulcan Energy secures approval for Lionheart lithium plant
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The news: Vulcan Energy has secured a permit to build and operate its Central Lithium Plant as a part of its Phase One Lionheart Project for the production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate at Industrial Park Höchst in Frankfurt, Germany.
The numbers: The plant will have capacity to produce up to 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate per annum for supply to the European battery and automotive industry.
Vulcan says the annual output would be sufficient to produce around 500,000 electric vehicles.
The context: The permit would also allow production and storage units at the plant to be expanded. Vulcan has been producing lithium hydroxide monohydrate at the industrial park since January 2025 at its optimisation and product qualification plant.
The broader Phase One Lionheart Project also involves lithium extraction and geothermal energy production from underground brine deposits.
The company also flagged that the deadline to meet the pre-condition for grants worth a total of EU104 million ($184 million), signed with German state and federal governments, has been extended to 31 December 2025.
Amendments have also been made to offtake agreements with Umicore, LG Energy Solution and Stellantis to spread offtake allowances more evenly. Vulcan is also negotiating a final offtake agreement with the aim of finalising it before debt signing.
What they said: “Securing the Central Lithium Plant permit is an important step in the development of a domestic lithium supply chain for Germany and the European Union,” Vulcan Energy managing director and CEO Chris Moreno said.
The source: ASX
