Reviewed by Lexie CornerMar 13 2025
In a study published in Nature Water, an international team of researchers from the UK, France, and China presents an alternative to traditional lithium extraction methods.
This sustainable lithium extraction process could help address the growing global demand for metals essential to electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy storage.
Current lithium extraction methods harm the environment, and scaling sustainable alternatives remains a challenge. However, the team has developed new membranes that use electricity to extract lithium directly from salty lake water, effectively separating it from other metal ions.
There is a critical demand for more sustainable processes addressing the global challenges of mineral availability and clean water supply, which lead to a circular economy. We believe our findings could lead to more efficient and sustainable lithium extraction, which is crucial for the batteries powering everyday devices such as smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles.
Melanie Britton, Study Co-Author and Professor, University of Birmingham
The new filtration membranes enable direct lithium extraction from salt-lake brines through a selective electrodialysis process, efficiently separating lithium ions from other ions in the brine.
Our research could reduce the environmental impact of lithium mining and contribute to the development of more efficient energy storage systems for renewable energy sources. There may also be applications in other areas of resource recovery – for example, critical metal recovery from wastewater, plastic and battery recycling.
Dr. Qilei Song, Imperial College London
Dr. Qilei Song led the research.
These innovative filters can differentiate between monovalent ions (with one electrical charge) and divalent ions (with two charges), making them highly effective at separating various salt ions.
The membranes feature ultra-small channels, smaller than a nanometer (a billionth of a meter), lined with specific chemical groups that interact with ions as they pass through. Ph.D. student Louie Lovell, from Prof. Britton’s team, used pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG-NMR) to analyze water and ion diffusion within these subnanometer channels.
The researchers found that water diffusion coefficients are significantly influenced by channel size and the chemical groups within the membranes. These membranes can produce high-purity lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃), meeting the quality standards needed for battery production.
Journal Reference:
Yang, D., et al. (2025). Solution-processable polymer membranes with hydrophilic subnanometre pores for sustainable lithium extraction. Nature Water. doi.org/10.1038/s44221-025-00398-8.