Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Logo
Menu
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Organizational Charts
    • Virtual Tours
    • EESA Strategic Vision
  • Our People
    • A-Z People
    • Alumni Network
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • IDEA Working Group
    • Paul A. Witherspoon
    • Postdocs & Early Careers
    • Search by Expertise
  • Careers & Opportunities
    • Careers
    • Intern Pilot w/CSUEB
    • Mentorship Program
    • Recognition & Funding Opps
    • EESA Mini Grants
    • S&E Metrics for Performance and Promotion
    • Student Opportunities
    • Supervisor EnRichment (SupER) Program
    • Promotion Metrics (Scientific)
  • Research
    • Our Divisions
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
      • Environmental & Biological Systems Science
        • Programs
        • Environmental Remediation & Water Resources
        • Ecosystems Biology Program
        • Bioenergy
      • Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
        • Terrestrial Ecosystem Science
      • Climate & Atmosphere Processes
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
      • Earth Systems & Society
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
    • Energy Geosciences Division
      • Discovery Geosciences
        • Programs
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geophysics
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geochemistry
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Isotope
      • Energy Resources
        • Programs
        • Geologic Carbon Sequestration
        • Hydrocarbon Resources
        • Geothermal Systems
        • Nuclear Energy & Waste
      • Resilient Energy, Water & Infrastructure
        • Programs
        • Water-Energy
        • Critical Infrastructure
        • Environmental Resilience
        • Grid-Scale Subsurface Energy Storage
    • Projects
    • Research at a Glance
    • Publication Lists
    • Centers and Resources
    • Technologies & National User Programs
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
    • Operations
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Earth & Environment Newsletter
  • Intranet
  • COVID & Safety
    • EESA Safety
    • EESA COVID-19
  • Search

  • all
  • people
  • events
  • posts
  • pages
  • projects
  • publications

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

EESA Celebrates International Day of Women & Girls in Science2 min read

February 24, 2021

On 11 February, the United Nations, Berkeley Lab, and other organizations worldwide marked the 6th annual International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The day focuses on the reality that science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of international development goals, such as climate change mitigation. Susan Hubbard, Associate Laboratory Director…

EESA Scientists Contribute to DOE GTO Research on Critical Minerals2 min read

  Scientists in the Energy Geosciences Division are contributing to research sponsored by the DOE Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) investigating the potential extraction of lithium, rare earth elements, and other critical minerals that are dissolved constituents of hot geothermal brines that are used to produce  electricity. Far more information is currently needed, for instance, about…

CSA News Calls Out Recent NGEE-Tropics Research2 min read

February 22, 2021

  CSA News, the magazine of three related societies: the Agronomy Society of America, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, published an article in its January 2021 issue describing research led by research scientist Robinson Negrón Juárez, on behalf of the NGEE-Tropics project. The article highlights a paper published recently…

Two EESA Women Chosen for the 2020 Women @ The Lab Awards2 min read

February 9, 2021

Two EESA women, Sandy Chin and Laura Nielsen Lammers, were chosen for the 2020 Women @ The Lab awards. They join an esteemed cohort of 15 women across Berkeley Lab who have made and continue to make significant contributions in the areas of leadership, science, operations, mentorship, and outreach.  Sandy Chin, who recently assumed the…

  • Our People
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • Organizational Charts
    • Postdocs
    • Staff Only
    • Search by Expertise
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
  • Research
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
    • Energy Geosciences Division
    • Program Domains
      • Programs
    • Projects
  • Contact
    • 510 486 6455
    • [email protected]
    • Our Identity

Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo DOE Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo UC

A U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory Managed by the University of California

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory · Earth and Environmental Sciences Area · Privacy & Security Notice