Lithium processing? GEA has you covered
GEA is a one-stop supplier for all major lithium process steps, including evaporative concentration, precipitation, crystallization, purification, separation and drying, providing its customers with an unrivalled combination of process expertise that covers the whole spectrum of lithium production, from brine concentration to high-purity particles.
The challenge
As economies grow, so does the transport activity around the world since it is fundamental for economic growth and development. At the same time, emissions from the mobility sector are on the rise as well because 95 percent of the world´s transport energy still comes from fossil fuels.
Today this is changing and the search for breaking the link between increased mobility and increased emissions is in full motion. Low-carbon mobility can reduce pollution while also creating jobs, making streets safer, strengthening infrastructure and stimulating local economies, which is why rechargeable lithium batteries have come to revolutionize our panorama. Even better is the fact that lithium batteries have not only impacted the mobility sector but also that of telecommunications among others. As the demand for power from “clean” energy sources increases, so too, does the demand for lithium.
Our take – Expertise at your service
We provide multiple technologies for major upstream and midstream lithium processing steps, including evaporative concentration, precipitation, crystallization, purification, separation and drying. Our process systems give customers a competitive advantage resulting from higher rates of production under tighter specifications, combined with reduced costs and improved efficiency.
Our portfolio starts at the mine and goes beyond the dried battery powder. It includes the solvent recovery during battery production and supporting in closing the loop with recycling the batteries with extraction and purification of critical metals such as cobalt, lithium and nickel.
Making raw materials accessible.
GEA successfully bridges engineering challenges and helps customers to process mineral, renewable and secondary raw materials. In the case of Lithium GEA provides solutions for:
- Lithium brine concentration
- Lithium salt crystallization
- Lithium salt purification by re-crystallization
- By-product recovery from lithium processing
- Impurity removal (precipitation, membrane filtration)
- Solid/liquid centrifugal separation equipment
- Fluid bed drying of lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate
Customize next-generation Lithium battery materials
GEA provides and develops technologies that lead to the future of energy storage. We engineer powders and support your production process with:
- Spray drying of lithium cathode and anode materials
- Solvent recovery at battery production
- Solid powder conveying & handling
Testing to commercial success
To ensure that we provide the optimal process and plant solution for each customer, our process specialists are available for both test work and process development.
When Chemistry Works With Engineering
GEA is taking bold action helping manufacturers worldwide embrace more sustainable, less wasteful and more energy-efficient and cost-effective procedures and processes.
