Geothermal plants must re-inject water at high temperature. Every other lithium extraction technology fails at this requirement. M.L.E. was engineered to operate up to 70–80°C — making lithium recovery from geothermal brine possible for the first time.
20–500
ppm Li range across geothermal and groundwater assets
<40°C
Maximum operating temperature of conventional DLE — incompatible with geothermal
80°C
M.L.E. maximum operating temperature — compatible with geothermal re-injection
20 ppm
Minimum economically viable Li concentration at high throughput (Golan, Israel)
Operators who process lithium through M.L.E. can optionally integrate D.C.M. to convert purified lithium directly into battery-ready cathode material on-site, capturing additional margin across the supply chain.
Learn about D.C.M. →Geothermal energy plants draw water from deep underground reservoirs at high temperature. The lithium dissolved in that water is extracted alongside the energy — but to maintain the reservoir, operators must re-inject the water at temperatures typically exceeding 60°C.
Every conventional Direct Lithium Extraction technology operates below 40°C. In a geothermal context this creates an impossible requirement: cool the water to use DLE, then reheat it before re-injection. The energy cost destroys the economics.
M.L.E. was developed with this constraint in mind. The membrane operates at temperatures up to 70–80°C, returning water to the reservoir at the temperature required, without a separate heating step.
Operates at up to 70–80°C — compatible with geothermal return requirements
The lithium-selective membrane maintains selectivity and throughput at the temperatures geothermal plants require. No cooling step. No reheating step.
Recovers lithium economically at concentrations down to 20 ppm
At high throughput volumes, low-concentration assets become economic. The Golan, Israel reference project validates extraction from 20 ppm groundwater at meaningful scale.
Adds a revenue stream to energy operations
Geothermal operators earn from electricity generation. M.L.E. adds a second output — purified lithium permeate — from the same brine stream, without changing plant operations.
Unlocks previously uneconomic groundwater assets
Low-concentration groundwater assets that fall outside the window of conventional DLE are within reach when high-throughput M.L.E. processing is applied.
Reference Project
Golan Heights, Israel
20 ppm groundwater. High-throughput operation. Validated meaningful lithium recovery from a low-concentration aqueous source under real-world conditions.
Relevant Operators
Vulcan Energy Resources, Cornish Lithium, Fervo Energy, Ormat Technologies, and earlier-stage geothermal and groundwater developers in the EU, US, and Israel.
Deployment Model
Modular skid integration with existing geothermal brine or water handling infrastructure. No reheating infrastructure required. Service priced per cubic meter processed.
Share your water chemistry, temperature profile, and throughput volumes. We model recovery potential before any lab work or commitment.
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