Our customers:
Feedstock flexible lithium refining
The Clear-LiTM electrochemical lithium refining technology allows Mangrove to convert lithium extracted from a wide variety of feedstocks into a battery-grade lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate. This patented technology produces a highly pure product and benefits upstream lithium producers in a variety of ways, including lower CAPEX/OPEX, absence of waste byproducts, no chemical inputs, and more.
Brine and Direct Lithium Extraction
Brines: The world’s most abundant lithium reserves
Majority of the world’s lithium reserves exist as brines in what is commonly known as the “Lithium Triangle” in South America. The lithium rich brines within this region that span Argentina, Bolivia and Chile will be critical in feeding the renewable energy market as the demand for energy storage continues to grow. Furthermore, lithium rich brines exist in varying quantities globally, such as regions of The US, Canada, The UK and countries in Europe, and innovative and ecological methods of extracting that lithium are being developed and applied – such as Direct lithium Extraction (DLE). Being able to efficiently and economically refine the lithium chloride extracted from brine and DLE assets will be paramount in the journey to supplying the renewable energy market.
Mangrove’s Clear-LiTM technology efficiently converts lithium chloride from brines and DLE into a high-purity battery-grade lithium hydroxide using electrochemistry in place of chemicals in fewer steps than incumbent technologies.
Benefits of Mangrove’s lithium refining technology for brine and DLE
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Lithium hydroxide in fewer steps:
Mangrove can refine lithium chloride from brines and DLE into high purity lithium hydroxide in fewer steps than incumbent technologies. Incumbent lithium refining platforms require lithium chloride to first be converted to lithium carbonate and then refine to lithium hydroxide. Mangrove’s Clear-LiTM technology directly refines lithium chloride into lithium hydroxide, with no need for a lithium carbonate intermediate step. -
No chemical inputs mean a more pure product and no reliance on chemical suppliers:
Because the Clear-Li electrochemical process uses electricity rather than chemical inputs, this allows Mangrove to refine a very pure lithium hydroxide. This is because the absence of chemicals eliminates the risk of contaminating the final product during the refining process. The absence of chemical inputs also means no reliance on chemical suppliers, eliminating the cost of a consumable and ensuring potential chemical supply-chain issues don’t risk refining operations. -
Numbers up to scale with capacity:
Mangrove's unique electrochemical cell/stack system is easily able to number up to meet the needs and capacity for projects of all sizes. The modular technology also has a smaller footprint than incumbent lithium refining systems. -
Circular economy with recyclable HCl byproduct:
When refining lithium chloride from brines to lithium hydroxide, Mangrove's refining technology only produces weak hydrochloric acid (HCl) as it’s byproduct. HCl can be reused at the lithium processing stage, creating a circular economy between extraction and refining.
Mangrove vs incumbent lithium chloride refining platforms
Hard Rock and Clay
Hard rocks: The world’s largest lithium production
The world’s largest lithium production operations currently producing raw lithium are hard rock spodumene assets in Australia, with a significant portion of global reserves exist as hard rock and clays around the world – including North America, India and Africa. Being able to refine lithium sulfate extracted from hard rocks and clays into battery-grade lithium hydroxide efficiently and cost effectively will be imperative as the demand for lithium continues to grow. However, one huge hurdle currently exists for incumbent lithium refining platforms when converting lithium sulfate into lithium hydroxide: the creation of sodium sulfate waste byproduct. Sodium sulfate has little commercial demand and must be disposed of, resulting in added cost and logistic issues for lithium producers.
Mangrove is able to refine a pure lithium hydroxide from lithium sulfate efficiently and cost effectively without the creation of any waste byproducts, all without any added chemical inputs.
Benefits of Mangrove’s lithium refining technology for hard rocks and clays
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No sodium sulfate waste byproducts:
Mangrove’s Clear-LiTM electrochemical technology creates no sodium sulfate or other waste byproducts when refining lithium sulfate from hard rock and clay into lithium hydroxide. Incumbent lithium refining technologies produce sodium sulfate as a byproduct at a ratio with lithium hydroxide production of 1:2. This carries a burden of disposal, as sodium sulfate has very little commercial demand and requires proper disposal – adding to lithium production cost. -
No chemical inputs mean a more pure product and no reliance on chemical suppliers:
Because the Clear-Li electrochemical process uses electricity rather than chemical inputs, this allows Mangrove to refine a very pure lithium hydroxide. This is because the absence of chemicals eliminates the risk of contaminating the final product during the refining process. The absence of chemical inputs also means no reliance on chemical suppliers, eliminating the cost of a consumable and ensuring potential chemical supply-chain issues don’t risk refining operations. -
Numbers up to scale with capacity:
Mangrove's unique electrochemical cell/stack system is easily able to number up to meet the needs and capacity for projects of all sizes. The modular technology also has a smaller footprint than incumbent lithium refining systems. -
Circular economy with recyclable H2SO4 byproduct:
When refining lithium sulfate from hard rocks and clays to lithium hydroxide, Mangrove's refining technology only produces weak sulfuric acid (H2SO4) as it’s byproduct. H2SO4 can be reused at the lithium processing stage, creating a circular economy between extraction and refining.
Mangrove vs incumbent lithium sulfate refining platforms
