Perth, Western Australia -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/24/2011 -- Simbol Materials of the silicon valley has developed technology that they believe could revolutionize the lithium production industry. Though their system is still largely unproven, experts speculate that if their trials are successful they will be able to efficiently extract lithium from geothermal power generation facilities around the world enabling production to surpass 420,000 tons by 2020, outstripping demand.

The vast majority of the world’s lithium is produced in Chili and Australia, and though reserves are abundant in other areas, climate and geography make extraction difficult in much of the world. The most common method of extracting lithium is pumping brine into pools where it is left to evaporate in the sun for 18-24 months. Concentrated lithium chloride is left behind which can be extracted and processed into lithium carbonate used in industry. Simbol Materials has allegedly perfected a process where spent hot brine used to power geothermal power stations is pumped through filters removing the lithium chloride in hours rather than years before the water is returned to the earth.

With geothermal power generation gaining traction around the world, retrofits with this technology could potentially supply a large portion of the world’s demand for lithium. Preliminary testing is promising and it is expected that the company will be able to refine lithium carbonate at costs competitive to the lowest cost Chilean producers.

As the demand for lithium continues to increase to support the portable electronics and automotive industries it is important that lithium production keeps up. This technology appears to be an excellent supplement to existing production methods and will likely enable global competition in the lithium supply chain ultimately lowering costs.