Darmstadt Regional Court gives Vulcan Energy green light for project “Lionheart”
Vulcan Energy 's application to build and operate a lithium hydroxide production facility at the Höchst Industrial Park. District President Prof. Dr. Jan Hilligardt personally presented the approval notice. The company has already been operating a pilot plant at the site for some time.
"Independence from international supply chains for future-relevant raw materials is very important, so I'm delighted to be able to present the approval notice today," said Hilligardt. The project also has a strong signal effect for the Höchst Industrial Park site: "It is impressive evidence of the innovative strength and future-oriented nature of the companies in our Frankfurt/Rhine-Main metropolitan region."
Four subprojects combine future technologies
Lionheart project consists of four components:
- Drilling sites for the extraction and injection of thermal water
- Geothermal plants for district heating and electricity generation
- A lithium extraction plant for the extraction, purification and concentration of lithium chloride
- A central lithium plant (CLP) in the Höchst industrial park, where lithium hydroxide monohydrate is produced
The end product, lithium hydroxide, is considered a key raw material for electromobility and will be supplied to automobile and battery manufacturers in Europe in the future.
With an investment of over 500 million euros, the project is one of the largest industrial projects in the Rhine-Main area in recent years.
(DARMSTADT – RED/RPDA)
