Dismantling of the Geotherkin power plant Landau: Vulcan announces major changes!

Dismantling of the Geotherkin power plant Landau: Vulcan announces major changes!

in Landau, Rhineland-Palatinate, the geothermal power plant, which was put into operation in 2007 and is the first of its kind in the Upper Rhine moat, is facing significant change. The operator Vulcan Energy has announced that the power plant should be dismantled. This decision has already led to confusion because the company shows a clear catch -up requirement in communication. Questions for the reason for the dismantling have been addressed by the Rheinpfalz to the operator, but so far unanswered.

vulcan, to which the geothermal power plant now belongs, also pursues interesting developments in lithium extraction. A lithium extraction optimization was recently planned (Leop) at the location of the geothermal power plant. The main goal of this new system is to increase lithium extraction made of geothermous water through targeted optimization in laboratory operation.

new focus on lithium extraction

The Leop is located directly at the Geotherktorship of Landau, which is currently not ready for operation. The team in the new facility is trained in order to be equipped for commercial production by 2026. The geothermal liquids in Landau show a normal pressure that is sufficient to increase the lithium yield even with lower flow rates. An alternative could be the transport of geothermalesole from another geothermal power plant in Ensheim.

In addition, Vulcan Energy has acquired several geothermal exploration licenses in the German Upper Rhine Valley and is planning an expansion to Alsace, French. The company has set itself the goal of using the geothermal resources of the Upper Rhine Valley for the extraction of CO2-neutral lithium.

partnerships for the future

To achieve this, Vulcan has completed binding lithium hydroxide delivery contracts with leading companies such as Stellantis, Volkswagen, Renault, LG Energy Solutions and Umicor. The lithium chloride, which is produced in the existing preparation system, is plans to become Central Lithium Electrolysis Optimization (Cleop) in Frankfurt-Höchst. There the processing is carried out in lithium hydroxide monohydrate, which is then tested by the partners of Vulcan.

The decision to dismantle the Landau geothermal power plant and the simultaneous developments in the field of lithium extraction show that Vulcan Energy is reoriented strategically. The coming months will be decisive for the implementation of these changes, while the company strives to meet the growing requirements of the market and at the same time promote environmentally friendly solutions.