Background
The energy and digital transitions require a large amount of raw materials, which are considered ‘critical’ by the European Union. These Critical Raw Materials (CRM) are predominantly imported from non-European countries where environmental and ethical standards are less strict than in the EU. However, a largely untapped resource is assumed to exist in deep geothermal fluids, some of which contain significant amounts of CRMs. In the main, these fluids are only exploited for their energy (heat and electricity supply), but co-utilisation by extraction of valuable elements simultaneously could contribute to both, the goals of the European Critical Raw Materials Act as well as the goals of the European Green Deal.
Although the presence of Critical Raw Materials such as lithium in geothermal fluids is known in principle, there are still many uncertainties concerning their occurrence in different geological settings and the practicability and sustainability of their extraction. The actual extraction process is also a major challenge, requiring the development of new technologies or the adaption of existing technologies with regard to the chemical complexity of the geothermal brine and the operation alongside a geothermal heat production.
Key scientific questions
- How can we combine geothermal energy provision and critical raw material extraction from geothermal fluids in an economic and sustainable way?
- What are the source rocks/minerals of CRM in geothermal fluids and what processes control their mobility?
- How can certain CRM be selectively extracted from geothermal brines while minimising impacts on the process of geothermal energy production?
- In which formation and regions of the North German Basin can we find suitable CRM in the fluids and how can we tackle the specific challenges of high salinity complex fluids?
Related Projects
