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Berkeley Lab works toward establishing a new center for lithium resource research and innovation1 min read

by Christina Procopiou on October 22, 2020

Energy Geosciences Division

A research team led by scientists within the Energy Geosciences Division has received funding through Berkeley Lab’s Strategic Planning Support Activities and Laboratory Directed Research Development programs to work towards establishing a Lithium Resource Research and Innovation Center (LiRRIC).

In partnership with researchers from the Energy Technologies and Energy Sciences Areas at Berkeley Lab, EGD scientists Mike Whittaker and Laura Lammers will lead a collaboration between industry, academia, and national laboratories to identify basic research needs in the lithium cycle and develop new extraction and processing technologies.

The demand for lithium, a key ingredient of most batteries, is expected to grow tenfold by 2030 as vehicles, buildings, and other sectors increasingly go electric. Berkeley Lab scientists are working to accelerate the development of new technologies for extracting and processing this valuable metal from unconventional sources such as geothermal brine, a byproduct of geothermal energy production near California’s Salton Sea, an area with the potential to produce more than 600,000 tons of lithium carbonate annually for a potential $7.2 billion per year.

News & Events

Former Intern Emily Nagamoto Wins AGU Award1 min read

March 27, 2023

Former Science Undergraduate Laboratory Intern (SULI) Emily Nagamoto received an American Geophysical Union (AGU) Outstanding Presentation Award, which honors exceptional presentations given during AGU’s 2022 Fall meeting. She was mentored by Staff Scientist Charuleka Varadharajan and Postdoctoral Research Fellow Mohammed Ombadi during her Summer 2022 SULI term. Currently an undergraduate student in Duke University’s Nicholas…

EESA Scientists Investigate How Tropical Soil Microbes Might Respond to Future Droughts2 min read

March 14, 2023

As the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, tropical rainforests are just as critical to sustaining environmental and human systems as they are beautiful. Their unique climate with high temperatures, humidity, and precipitation promotes high primary productivity, which offsets high respiration, resulting in these ecosystems being one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth,…

Doubling Protected Lands for Biodiversity Could Require Tradeoffs With Other Land Uses, Study Finds4 min read

March 3, 2023

This article first appeared on lbl.gov. Scientists show how 30% protected land targets may not safeguard biodiversity hotspots and may negatively affect other sectors – and how data and analysis can support effective conservation and land use planning Although more than half the world’s countries have committed to protecting at least 30% of land and oceans…

Six Berkeley Lab Scientists Named AAAS Fellows6 min read

This article first appeared at lbl.gov Six researchers have been elected into the 2022 class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced their 2022 Fellows, including six scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This lifetime honor, which follows…

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