If there’s one thing Cornwall is known for (apart from the surprising boom of romantic TV movies tabletop) is due to its long mining tradition. Now, the Cornish industry is reinventing itself with a revolutionary deep geothermal project that, in addition to joining the national grid and generating energy for 10,000 homes English, is also capable of extracting lithium by taking advantage of this same geothermal resource.
A pioneer plant. Last February it was launched in the town of Redruth in Cornwall the first geothermal power station in the United Kingdom with the hottest and deepest well in the country. It is about the United Downs projectfrom the energy company Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL), an innovative initiative whose objective is to generate electricity and heat using hot granite rocks among the abundant underground resources hidden in this English county.
As GEL CEO Ryan Law told The Guardian, “It’s like someone built a huge nuclear power plant underground“We are simply taking advantage of the heat that is generated.”
Clean energy 24/7. Furthermore, this plant, like all geothermal plants, has the potential to provide constant electricity and heat from a minimal land area compared to other renewable installations. According to data on the company websitea project of this type can produce 5 MW with only a carbon footprint of between 5 and 15 g of CO2 per kW.
But this is not just about energy.. In addition to supplying energy, this plant will also be able to extract high concentrations of lithium from the mineral-rich water it uses. And, curiously, as The Guardian explains, during the process the heat of the used water drops to 50º C, a perfect temperature to be able to separate it from this resource that today is highly sought after for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy storage.
This method is called direct extraction of lithium and it is a physicochemical process that avoids evaporation ponds or open pit miningsignificantly reducing the environmental impact of conventional extraction. Therefore, we would be facing a revolutionary technology that would boost United Kingdom towards a greener and more sustainable horizon (and, of course, less dependent on imports).
And how does it work? The geothermal is a renewable energy that takes advantage of the heat that the Earth produces naturally. As the GEL company itself explains, whether through volcanic environments or natural faults under the ground, Geothermal plants access these high temperature areas through drilling of different lengths that create natural hot water wells.
On the one hand, the production well pumps that resource to the surface, where the pressurized steam that is created drives a turbine that is used to generate electricity, just like nuclear energy doesbut without the risks or residues of this. It is at this moment when the temperature of the water allows the extraction of lithium.
On the other hand, a second injection well, somewhat shallower, is responsible for returning the water already used to the fault and reintroducing it into the geothermal reservoir so that it can be used again and the cycle can begin again, as GEL points out on its website.
The rest of the world (and Spain) also looks underground. In a context as fluctuating as the current one, in which enclaves such as Europe seeks its energy independencegeothermal energy with lithium extraction is a more than interesting option for the world. Some countries are already following in the UK’s footsteps, as shown by the UK’s geothermal lithium projects. Vulcan Energy Resources in Germany and Eramet and Strasbourg Electricity in France, classified as strategic by the European Union.
However, in our country we will have to wait. In places like the old mining town of Villasrubias in Salamanca or the deposit in the rural area of Cañaveral in Cáceres, managed by the company Lithium Iberiaa high presence of this is hidden white goldbut the extraction projects contemplate conventional mining. Furthermore, although Spain has some geothermal resources, especially in the Canary Islandsfor now there is no project that combines this renewable energy with the direct extraction of lithium. Therefore, it remains to be seen if geothermal lithium plants like the one in Cornwall manage to demonstrate their viability and become a reference for our energy model to advance in this direction.
Nothing new under the Cornish sun. For this small coastal county, the mineral extraction industry, especially tin and copperhas been an indisputable part of its identity for centuries. After the decline of its mining, which came to dominate the world market in the 19th century, today companies like GEL are reactivating the sector in the area thanks to the global demand for such elements. crucial in the energy transition like lithium.
“People here are proud of their mining tradition,” Greg Foxwell, a member of Gwennap parish council, near Redruth, told The Guardian. According to data accessed by the British newspaper, so far the Cornish geothermal plant has created 100 jobs, including engineers, chemists and geologists, and has hired suppliers, contractors and raw materials, betting especially on local talent and resources.
Image | GEL
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