Gradiant’s alkaLi Says EC2 Tech Hits 97% Lithium Recovery

alkaLi, a spin-out of water treatment company Gradiant, said Nov. 12 its EC² technology demonstrated a groundbreaking 97% lithium recovery rate from salar brines in North America.

alkaLi’s EC² technology is an all-in-one solution to extract, concentrate and convert battery-grade lithium to meet the accelerating energy demand, the company said.

Testing showed that the EC² is expected to deliver at least 95% lithium recovery, even with high chemical oxygen demand content. Additionally, Gradiant’s counterflow reverse osmosis technology was able to concentrate lithium to battery-grade levels above 200,000 mg/L.

Beyond lithium, alkaLi said its elemental technology approach adapts the EC² technology stack to recover a wide range of critical minerals, including copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, magnesium and iron.

, alkaLi plans to commission, in late November, a custom solution with a global mining company in Western Australia, focusing on nickel and cobalt recovery from mine wastewater.

At another site in Southeast Asia, EC² is already converting mine wastewater into high-value industrial-grade magnesium sulfate, alkaLi said.