Sustainable Lithium Demonstration Plant in Clayton Valley

Well-to-product integrated lithium solutions

Powering the future, responsibly

Overview

The growing battery-grade lithium demand

As the global demand for energy-efficient transportation and energy security continues to rise, the need for battery-grade lithium has increased significantly. Traditional lithium extraction methods often present environmental challenges, leading to a pressing need for more efficient, sustainable, and future-proof solutions. At SLB, we have developed well-to-product integrated lithium solutions that incorporate direct lithium extraction (DLE), addressing growing demand while supporting our commitment to environmental stewardship.

From well to product: A more sustainable approach to lithium production

Redefining the standard for sustainable lithium production to meet the energy demand of tomorrow.

Applications

An answer for your supply chain

SLB provided well-to-product lithium solutions that integrate SLB subsurface expertise with advanced surface engineering technologies. These technologies include brine pretreatment, direct lithium extraction (DLE), polishing and concentration, and conversion. The solutions optimize all systems and technologies to produce more battery-grade lithium within hours, achieving faster time to market. This allows the industry to more responsively adjust production based on demand and enables new opportunities for the production of lithium in regions across the globe where lithium-rich brine may be found.

Responsible management of water resources

More than 50% of today’s lithium production is concentrated in areas with high water stress levels. SLB’s water resource management reduces water consumption by up to 95% compared with traditional methods. Spent brine is tested and treated to ensure its composition and characteristics meet those of the feed water before reinjection. This approach helps minimize impact in high water stress and other sensitive environments.

Benefits

Less production time

Cuts lithium production time down from over a year to just hours

Minimal environmental footprint

Utilizes less than 10% of the land footprint of traditional methods, reducing the physical impact to ecosystems and communities

Sustainable water resource management

Reduces water consumption by up to 95% compared with traditional methods: Spent brine is reinjected (after thorough testing) to minimize impact in high water stress and other sensitive environments

More lithium

Consistently delivers a 85%–95% recovery rate, with up to 96% recovery from a 200-ppm brine as proven in our Clayton Valley project in Nevada.

Features

An experienced partner you can trust

SLB understands what it takes to test, develop, implement, and operate a new DLE-based production facility. At our demonstration plant in Clayton Valley, Nevada, we embarked on a full-scale project journey that took us from exploration and subsurface model building, front-end engineering and design (FEED), and permitting to DLE, concentration, and conversion technologies integration, construction, and operation.

We learned a lot during this time and are eager to apply our knowledge and experience to your DLE project to electrify the energy transition.

Graphic of the workflow of lithium production from subsurface engineering to lithium conversion.

We accelerate the scaling of lithium production while using less land, water, energy, and chemicals. Let us help you maximize lithium production efficiency while minimizing environmental footprint.