Lithium Australia NL (ASX: LIT) has received official notification’ from the US Patent and Trademark Office confirming the grant of the patent for its revolutionary SiLeach lithium-recovery technologies.
SiLeach is a fluorine-assisted, acid-leach recovery process designed specifically for lithium mica minerals.
Managing Director, Adrian Griffin, said the successful patent grant provides 17 years legal protection in the US and is vindication of the value of the company’s intellectual property (IP) in a jurisdiction known for its tardiness in approving patent applications.
Mr Griffin said Lithium Australia, together with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), is continuing R&D on its revolutionary lithium-recovery technologies for the production of critical battery chemicals.
The company has also received a ‘Notice of Acceptance’ from IP Australia for the same application, with a grant of patent expected at the end of April 2021. Once the patent is granted, SiLeach will have 20 years of legal protection in Australia.
The company’s technologies aim to deliver efficient, sustainable processing and production options for the lithium-ion battery (LIB) industry while reducing that industry’s environmental footprint for the benefit of the planet as a whole.
The company’s lithium chemical division has partnered with the best technical expertise available, including ANSTO, to develop lithium extraction technologies, with a focus on low-grade and waste materials. Those materials can be classified as: lithium micas, fine spodumene and spent LIBs.
Lithium Australia’s revolutionary SiLeach process unlocks the value in lithium-bearing clays and micas,” Mr Griffin said.
“The Sileach process can produce a range of lithium chemicals, including lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate and lithium phosphate.
“Significantly, the use of lithium phosphate is the shortest route to the production of lithium ferrophosphate (‘LFP’) batteries, which is also advantageous from an environmental, social and governance perspective.
“Granting of the US SiLeach patent is timely, given increased interest in the extraction of lithium from clays in north America … and even more so now that LFP is the most rapidly expanding sector of the lithium-ion battery industry.
“The lithium and phosphorus required to manufacture LFP are both produced by SiLeach as a single lithium chemical.
“We invite anyone with a lithium mica or clay deposit to reach out and see what we can offer; also, cathode producers interested in discussing a more direct route to LFP synthesis using our proprietary VSPC cathode powder production technology.”
EV makers in China are reportedly very confident that demand for LFP will continue to grow. Indeed, their support of this market is such that BYD, a leading Chinese producer of LIBs, has greatly increased its LFP production to meet anticipated demand. Others will follow.
