NESI completes commercial scale validation of NORSCAND® Lithium Chloride Electrolysis with Lifthium Energy

NORAM Electrolysis Systems has recently completed an extensive validation program using NORSCAND® Electrolysis technology, producing 25m3 of high-purity battery-grade lithium hydroxide. This program was conducted in partnership with Lifthium Energy SA (Lifthium) to advance their planned 28,000 TPY Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate (LHM) refinery.

The validation program included 4,000 hours of NESI NS-01 test cell operation and 250 hours of continuous industrial scale NESI NORSCAND® A15 cell operation to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide. All work was completed at NESI’s industrial scale electrolysis facility in Richmond, BC utilizing lithium chloride brine provided and pre-treated by Lifthium. The produced lithium hydroxide will be further processed by crystallization to produce tonnage quantities of battery-grade LHM.

This validation program confirmed the longevity of critical electrolysis components, the expected performance of the electrolysis system, and provided confirmation of the quality and suitability of the lithium chloride feed brine for electrochemical conversion.

NESI’s ability to perform validation programs helps owners and operators de-risk their projects by not only confirming process viability with actual feedstock, but also garnering accurate real-world operating data using the same industrial-scale equipment specified for commercial-scale plants (20,000 TPY LHM and higher). NESI’s Industrial scale demonstration plant in Richmond BC has an annual production capacity of 500 TPY LHM. NESI is currently installing a second 500 TPY LHM state-of-the-art Lithium Electrolysis Validation Centre as part if it’s ongoing NRCan Critical Minerals Research Development and Demonstration program investment which will enable NESI and its partners to conduct similar large-scale electrolysis validation programs using brines from domestic and international sources.

About NESI

NESI is the global leader in the environmentally favorable process of producing battery-grade Lithium Hydroxide through electrolysis. Based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, NESI has developed and demonstrated industrial scale membrane electrolysis technologies for sustainably refining lithium sulphate and lithium hydroxide to high-purity battery-grade lithium hydroxide. (https://www.nesi.tech/)