Columbia Engineering Researchers Develop Faster Lithium Extraction Method

New Extraction Technique

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a new method for extracting lithium directly from salty underground brines. The technique utilizes a temperature-sensitive solvent to pull the mineral from the brine, a process designed to be faster, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly than existing methods.

According to the researchers, this approach avoids the use of giant evaporation ponds, which are common in traditional lithium mining. These ponds can take years to process lithium and often drain local water supplies. Additionally, the new method is capable of working on low-quality lithium sources that current extraction technologies struggle to utilize.

Laboratory Performance and Testing

To test the system, researchers used synthetic brines modeled after the Salton Sea, a geothermal region located in Southern California. The Salton Sea is estimated to contain enough lithium to supply more than 375 million electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

In these laboratory tests, the system recovered nearly 40% of the lithium after four cycles using the same batch of solvent. This efficiency demonstrates the potential for the method to unlock massive, previously untouched reserves of the critical mineral.

Industry Context and Demand

The development comes amid a period of significant growth in battery demand. It is expected that 30% of cars sold in 2026 will be electric vehicles, all of which rely on batteries for power. Furthermore, American homes and businesses installed a record number of large-scale batteries last year.

Lithium remains a critical component for these technologies, and the ability to extract it more efficiently from diverse sources is a primary focus for researchers seeking to stabilize the supply chain for clean energy.