BMW Group invests in innovative new technology for lithium extraction

To promote environmentally-friendly, resource-efficient extraction of lithium, the BMW Group is investing, through its venture capital fund, BMW i Ventures, in an innovative process developed by U.S.A-based startup Lilac Solutions. The firm has developed and patented an ion exchange technology that will significantly improve efficiency, costs and sustainability by extracting lithium from brine resources.

The new technology will make extracting lithium for batteries more efficient and cost-effective, while reducing lithium's environmental impact compared to conventional methods. The technology has already been proven in initial field pilots and must now demonstrate that it can be scaled and industrialised in the mid-term. The process could then be used with brines worldwide, even if they have a low lithium content.

The BMW Group is stepping up its expansion of electromobility and will be releasing about ten million fully-electric vehicles onto the roads over the next ten years or so. By 2030, at least half the BMW Group's global sales are expected to come from fully-electric vehicles. This will also increase the need for lithium, an important raw material for production of battery cells.