Company unveils revolutionary tech that could transform future vehicles: 'A novel chemical process'

Creating lithium batteries is usually a time-consuming and extensive process. But a company has discovered a way to expedite production with a common resource.

NewGenium unveiled a unique, new option for lithium-ion extraction, using customary salty brine as a base, reported Charged EVs. It's called direct brine-to-lithium-iron-phosphate, or LFP for short.

Traditional lithium farming requires large evaporation ponds where the water can sit and slowly evaporate over time. NewGenium's innovation makes the process faster, more efficient, and less expensive.

According to Charged EVs, the company has developed a process called Super Synth, which aims to "[reduce] the cost and complexity of LFP production by enabling extraction of lithium directly from brine, consolidating extraction and synthesis steps and eliminating the need for offshore processing."

This method creates much less solid waste and costs about $3 per kilogram ($6.60 per pound) to do. That's a lot less than the current market rate of $5 to $15 per kilogram ($11 to $33 a pound).

The demand for lithium-ion batteries has spiked in recent years with the increased need for renewable energy storage and the rise of EVs.

By streamlining lithium mining operations, the benefits are vast.

Costs for lithium-ion batteries will decrease the easier it is to make and maintain them. Using the Super Synth method, brine ponds that take up huge swaths of land and large amounts of time will become things of the past.

Skipping the steps between setting up the brine and extracting the lithium will allow the world to meet growing needs for the batteries themselves.

Charged EVs stated that NewGenium believes that its innovation will allow the process to become more domestic. LFP manufacturing won't have to rely on international imports to do its job.

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By making lithium a more accessible and circular energy source, more polluting energy sources, like coal and oil, could become more obsolete.

Direct brine-to-lithium processing could bring the batteries to the public in a way that simultaneously benefits the planet. Electric vehicles are particularly noteworthy in this discussion, as they are a key contributor to the heightened need for LFP production. EVs reduce oil consumption with their rechargeable batteries.

In fact, electric vehicles can become even more efficient with the implementation of solar energy.

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NewGenium CEO Christopher Murphy explained that the company was "thrilled to have developed a novel chemical process that will help the USA build national independence in critical minerals … perhaps most exciting is the fact that onshoring USA domestic production of LFP batteries from brine finally becomes both financially and environmentally attractive."

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