Vulcan Energy has begun civil construction activities at the Lionheart 30 MW geothermal power plant site in Landau, Germany, marking the next stage of development after early bulk earthworks.

The company said the current phase includes preparing and building key foundations and concrete works for the plant’s buildings and equipment, as well as developing road infrastructure. This stage comes before the erection of buildings and the arrival of process equipment for assembly.

Lionheart is located in the Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field between Germany and France and forms Vulcan’s first phase of production. The project combines geothermal energy generation with lithium extraction and is targeting production capacity of 24 000 t of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM). According to the company, that volume is enough for approximately 500 000 electric vehicle batteries per annum.

The project is also designed to produce 275 GWh of renewable power and 560 GWh of heat per annum for local consumers over an estimated 30-year project life.

The commercial site covers approximately 10 ha. and is being built in the Messegelände Südost industrial park in Landau. Vulcan said the lithium extraction and geothermal energy plants will be linked by a network of pipelines and cables, described as interconnected pipelines and power, to transport lithium brine and industrial water from the well sites to Landau and back to the well sites for underground re-injection.

Vulcan’s Managing Director and CEO, Cris Moreno, commented: "We are delighted to move beyond preparatory bulk earthworks and into civil construction activities at our Lionheart geothermal power plant, an integral part of the Lionheart integrated lithium and geothermal project. By producing our own baseload heat and power, where excess heat will be sold to local consumers, Lionheart is able to deliver low-cost lithium production with significant insulation from high energy prices now and in the future.

"It is encouraging to see Lionheart project execution progress on time, and on budget – a great start with our project partners. Step by step, we are building cost competitive lithium production for Europe, and we look forward to keeping our shareholders abreast of further progress as the project develops."

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