The Saudi oilfield services company National Energy Services Reunited has announced that its specialized division, NESR Environmental and Decarbonisation Applications (NEDA), has entered into an agreement with the national oil and gas monopoly Aramco to implement the country’s first lithium project.
Under the agreement, Aramco will invest $200 million over the next five years in the construction of a pilot plant that will be able to produce up to 2,000 tons of battery grade lithium carbonate annually. It is planned to launch it at the end of 2027.
The project is based on the LiThara modular technology developed by NEDA. It makes it possible to obtain lithium carbonate from brine through a continuous integrated production process that can be scaled up.
Geothermal sources containing lithium compounds have been found in Saudi Arabia. Aramco’s experience in oil production is planned to be used in underground brine extraction, according to the metalinfo online portal.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau,Rough&Polished
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