At the end of last month, an exciting development took place for a startup at Campus Groningen! Future Tech Ventures invested in IonIQs, a startup that has developed a sustainable technology to efficiently extract lithium from wastewater. Lithium is a scarce and essential material for high-performance batteries, but the current extraction and purification process results in significant water waste worldwide. IonIQs’ technology offers a solution by drastically reducing water consumption while increasing efficiency for mining and battery companies. Thanks to the investment from Future Tech Ventures, IonIQs can complete its scientific research, scale up the technology, and prepare it for market entry.
Growing demand for lithium
Growing Demand for Lithium
The importance of lithium is increasing worldwide due to the rising demand for batteries for electric vehicles, electronics, and energy storage. This has led to intense competition and the development of new mining projects. Lithium is primarily found in minerals within rocks and is also present in salt lakes. Australia is currently the largest lithium producer globally, followed by Chile, China, Argentina, and the United States. New lithium mines are also being opened in Europe, including in Spain, Portugal, Serbia, and Scandinavia.
Water waste
During the purification of lithium into usable battery material, a chemical purification process currently takes place that consumes vast amounts of water. A significant portion of the lithium in the wastewater is lost. The required water is extracted from rivers, lakes, and groundwater, leading to drought and desertification around mines and factories.
IonIQs offers a sustainable solution with technology that efficiently filters wastewater. This not only allows the water to be reused but also recovers pure lithium.
Jasper Zuidervaart, co-founder of IonIQs, says: “Our technology reduces the amount of water used and the amount of lithium that needs to be mined. We aim to address environmental challenges while also increasing the overall efficiency for mining and battery companies, making it economically attractive as well.”
In developing the technology, IonIQs collaborates with Wetsus (European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology) in Leeuwarden, the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) at the University of Groningen, and the Zernike Advanced Processing (ZAP) facility at ENTRANCE in Groningen.
Pure lithium for high-performance batteries
To be used in high-performance batteries, such as those for cars, phones, and laptops, lithium must be extremely pure: at least 99.5% pure lithium. Currently, IonIQs achieves a purity of 99% from water. “Our focus now is on reaching 99.5%,” says Jasper. “Once we achieve that, we can collaborate with companies on a pilot project.”
The next goal is to scale the capacity to 10-40 cubic meters of filtered water per hour. In the long term, IonIQs aims to integrate the technology into modular shipping containers that can be easily customized to handle the specific wastewater of each client. These containers will function as plug-and-play systems: connect them to power, input wastewater, and receive clean water and pure lithium.
About Future Tech Ventures
Future Tech Ventures is a proof-of-concept fund. The fund, with a size of approximately 20 million euros, was established through a collaboration between Triade, RUG Ventures, NV NOM, and the Groningen Investment Fund. FTV is ready to support and finance dozens of high-tech startups in the Northern Netherlands over the next five years. Future Tech Ventures recently received a 10-million-euro subsidy from the Just Transition Fund (JTF).
Source article/photo: Future Tech Ventures
