WHAT WE DO
A complete ESG compliant Lithium Supply Chain
From Brines to Lithium Hydroxide
An integrated & secured Lithium supply chain
Ensorcia Group integrates the whole supply chain to ensure the continuous supply of ESG compliant battery grade Lithium for our customers.
This integrated approach allows us to provide an end-to-end battery grade Lithium, with the lowest level of impurities utilizing the only third party proven modular DLE technology in addition to a fully trackable ESG supply chain.
Our time-to-market Lithium supply is secured using fast timeline for the DLE implementation (12 to 18 months) , as well as utilizing proven best-in-class technologies for carbonate and hydroxide conversion, the combination of which enables a much faster and more secure implementation than other lithium extraction processes.
The control of each step of the Lithium extraction and processing, from the brine sources up to the Lithium carbonate and hydroxide, dramatically reduces the geopolitical dependency observed worldwide in the actual supply chain, and the long-term sovereignty risks along the Lithium supply chain.
Brine Resources
The Lithium supply chain starts with the availability of the key resource, the Lithium.
Although lithium is abundant on the planet, it comes mainly from two sources, the brines which we work with, and spodumene.
In 2018, we began acquiring properties and concession rights, both directly and via joint venture agreements, focusing mainly on the abundant brine sources in Argentina and Chile.
As of 2023, we have estimated reserves of over 1.000.000 tons LCE, with sources in Argentina (Antofalla, Hombre Muerto) and Chile (Salar de Tara) anticipating Chilean’s market opening.
Geophysics has been completed in Antofalla and Salar de Tara.
Drilling commenced in Antofalla in 2022.
We began an additional acquisition program in 2023 in North America as well as investigating resources in Europe and other locations.
DLE Extraction
The Lithium extraction phase relies on our patented first in class modular DLE technology that was developed by our partner company IBAT.
This cutting-edge technology:
- Is Highly sustainable: no chemicals, low carbon, 98% water recycling depending on local regulations, very low landscape footprint (no evaporation pounds),
- Has Much higher performances than traditional plants: production cycle as short as hours as opposed to 18/24 months, over 92% Li extracted in fine after purification as opposed to the traditional result of between only 20/50%, extra low level of impurities <10 ppm
The modular design of our licensed DLE plant enables:
- Quick construction (8 to 14 months per 20.000 TPA plant), as opposed to 4 years plus required to construct traditional plants,
- Fast deployment in remote areas (less than 30 days depending on the location),
- 50% of the cost of traditional plants,
- Able to operate with a variety of energy sources including natural gas, LNG, electricity, and even 100% solar power offering the lowest carbon footprint in the Lithium market worldwide.
At Ensorcia, whave the capacity to size plants from 5.000 TPA to more than 100.000 TPA, as well as to build multiple plants simultaneously.
Our plants are expandable at any time due to the modular design, that enables us to start the plant production even before the development of the entire resource.
The modular design also offers redundancy, thereby avoiding downtime risk as well as reducing the maintenance impact.
The Lithium chloride extracted by our DLE plant is concentrated (between 30% and 40%), and then sent to a Carbonate plant to be processed to final products.
Carbonate Plant
The carbonate conversion plants are built in close proximity to the DLE extraction plant, using a proven carbonate conversion technology.
Building the extraction and conversion plants close to each other reduces the handling constraints of the lithium chloride and optimizes the conversion time to battery grade Lithium carbonate.
The carbonate is then transported, either to the hydroxide conversion plant, or to the customer depending on the final product to be delivered.
Hydroxide Plant
Conversion to Lithium Hydroxide:
Our first hydroxide conversion plant is located in Europe, to address European and US Gigafactories. It’s initial capacity of 20 kTPA is planned for early 2026, expendable to 60 kTPA in next project phases.
The Ensorcia Group is committed to producing the highest battery grade Lithium hydroxide by utilising only proven technologies, avoiding the use of new and unproven processes and their potential for high rejection rates.
We utilize a proven electrochemical technology in order to drastically reduce:
- the risk of quality control issues,
- the carbon impact (low carbon energy supply),
- chemical usage to a minimum as compared to other processes
This also allows for a quicker construction time and time to market.
Recycling
2027
The addition of a Lithium recycling process from Lithium sulphate, attached to the Hydroxide plant, is under investigation for the phase 2 (target 2027), in order to anticipate the growing expectations on incorporation of recycled Lithium into the end-products.