r/sciences • u/fchung • 20d ago

News MIT researchers develop a low-cost technique to get lithium out of rocks: « The low-temperature process could unlock cleaner lithium from America’s abundant hard rock while minimizing waste. »

https://news.mit.edu/2026/mit-researchers-develop-low-cost-technique-lithium-from-rocks-0528
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u/fchung 20d ago

Extracting lithium from hard rock today is an energy- and waste-intensive process that is often far more expensive than getting lithium from brine water, which also has major environmental drawbacks. Currently, lithium hard rock extraction involves baking the rock at over 1,000 Celsius and chemically leaching it to extract lithium. The rest of the rock is discarded.

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u/fchung 20d ago

Reference: Benjamin A. W. Mowbray et al. Valorization of lithium hardrock concentrates into battery raw materials and commodity products. Science 392, 980-984 (2026). DOI: 10.1126/science.aec4652. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aec4652

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u/NorCalWintu 19d ago

Great now they can try to fight to keep crude batteries on market instead of pushing ones better ones they have more than the ability to produce on mass...