Our Project Plans in Hessen.
Central lithium electrolysis optimization plant Vulcan CLEOP.
- Both the optimization plant and the commercial plant will be located at the Höchst Chemical Park.
- The optimization plant is currently under construction and is scheduled to go into operation in the first quarter of 2024. The aim of the facility is to prepare the team in a pre-commercial operating environment for
- the electrolysis of lithium chloride solution (LiCl) to lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM);
- LHM raw and pure crystallization; and
- LHM drying.
- The purpose of the optimization plant is also to provide customers with larger quantities of the end product for pre-qualification tests.
Zusammenarbeit mit Stellantis.
In January 2023, Vulcan signed a purchase agreement with Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest car manufacturer, for 81,000 tons of lithium over five years as well as a project to supply the Stellantis plant in Rüsselsheim with heat and electricity from geothermal energy. On the one hand, this represents additional added value in the region, as electromobility in Germany is being accelerated from Rüsselsheim, and on the other hand, Vulcan is making a contribution to the urgently needed decarbonization of the industry. The south of Hessen is playing a pioneering role here.
Permit field Ried.
Our Ried permit field covers an area of 290 km² between Rüsselsheim, the Rhine and Weiterstadt near Darmstadt. In a specific sandstone layer at a depth of 1500-4500 meters, Vulcan is looking for geothermal energy in a large heat reservoir with high potential that will ultimately play a major role for industry in the south of Hessen. The lithium found in Ried can be refined into lithium hydroxide at our central CLP lithium plant in Industriepark Höchst and further processed into batteries, which means considerable added value in the region.
Permit field Luftbrücke.
Our Luftbrücke permit field covers an area of 207 km² in the northern Upper Rhine Graben near the city of Frankfurt. The immense benefit for the region, which includes the city of Frankfurt, the airport and the Höchst Industrial Park as consumers of large quantities of (thermal) energy, lies in the provision and thus substitution of heat energy sources, 80% of which still come from fossil sources today. The establishment of Vulcan is therefore a strategically lucrative gain for the region.
Our Research drillings.
Geothermal energy is a climate-friendly energy source that is independent of critical political systems abroad and can make a significant contribution to heating, cooling and electricity supply. Existing uses of near-surface geothermal energy with a total output of 10,000 kW are located in the Henninger Turm residential area and in the modern FOUR high-rise complex in the banking district. The planned drilling depth of 800 meters in Frankfurt is medium-depth geothermal energy and thus the deepest borehole in the city of Frankfurt. On average, the temperature in the Earth’s deep interior rises by 3°C per 100 meters.
With measured temperatures of over 40°C, however, significantly higher temperatures per meter depth were measured than in the rest of the Upper Rhine Graben. The research drilling, in which Vulcan is also involved alongside HLNUG, the Leibniz Institute of Geophysics and TU Darmstadt, therefore offers the opportunity to fulfill the state government’s goal of realizing a regenerative heat supply in the areas around the Rebstockbad and Römerhofe and also to serve as a model for other projects.
Project Frankfurt Rebstockbad.
The business metropolis of Frankfurt has big plans: Independence from fossil fuels by 2035! This goal can possibly be achieved with the warmth under the city’s feet. 800 meters below the bank towers, the heat lies dormant in the depths of the underground. To be specific: Hot thermal water flows through the Rotliegend rock layer here, which can reach temperatures of up to 40°C and more. The thermal energy of the water can be used to generate renewable energy, for example.
Geothermal competence network Hessen.
Vulcan is happy to participate in the rock investigations in Frankfurt and would like to use its experience to contribute to the success of the project. Vulcan has already gained experience from drilling in the Upper Rhine Graben and can contribute this to the Frankfurt project. Vulcan is also interested in supplying the region with renewable energy. The project partners of the research drilling are also committed to this goal.
