UK scientists turn to biology to unlock cleaner lithium

The project aims to separate battery metals using engineered proteins with precisely controlled pores.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham are leading a £6.2-million ($8.2-million) project to develop protein-based membranes that could make lithium extraction more selective and potentially less energy-intensive.

The three-year initiative, funded by the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), will initially target one of the toughest challenges in direct lithium extraction (DLE): separating lithium from sodium to produce the high-purity lithium compounds required for battery manufacturing.

“Biology can construct ordered materials with precision that is extremely difficult to achieve using existing manufacturing methods.

We aim to harness this to create membranes with uniform, programmable pores,” project lead Dr.

Dominik Kubicki, from the University of Birmingham, said.

The technology could eventually extend beyond battery materials to critical-mineral recovery, water treatment and chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Its success would depend on whether researchers can translate the precision of biological structures into durable membranes capable of operating at industrial scales.

The consortium, which includes Aston University and three industrial partners, plans to use S-layer proteins, which naturally assemble into highly ordered two-dimensional lattices on the surfaces of many microorganisms.

Researchers aim to engineer these proteins into large-area membranes containing uniformly sized pores capable of distinguishing between lithium and sodium ions despite their similar chemical properties.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham are leading a £6.2-million ($8.2-million) project to develop protein-based membranes that could make lithium extraction more selective and potentially less energy-intensive.

The three-year initiative, funded by the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), will initially target one of the toughest challenges in direct lithium extraction (DLE): separating lithium from sodium to produce the high-purity lithium compounds required for battery manufacturing.

“Biology can construct ordered materials with precision that is extremely difficult to achieve using existing manufacturing methods.

We aim to harness this to create membranes with uniform, programmable pores,” project lead Dr.

Dominik Kubicki, from the University of Birmingham, said.

The technology could eventually extend beyond battery materials to critical-mineral recovery, water treatment and chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Its success would depend on whether researchers can translate the precision of biological structures into durable membranes capable of operating at industrial scales.