Infinity Lithium Corporation continues to strengthen its green hydrogen credibility with the company’s wholly owned Spanish subsidiary, Extremadura New Energies, joining a major regional energy transition group.
The group, SOI H2-ALEX, is focused on the advancement of green hydrogen developments in the south-west Iberian Peninsula, specifically the Alentejo region in Portugal and the Extremadura region in Spain.
Last year Infinity inked a memorandum of understanding with global engineering giant thyssenkrupp BU Mining to gauge the potential for green hydrogen to power a lithium chemical conversion process at its proposed San José lithium project near the city of Cáceres in Spain.
A key objective of the H2-ALEX alliance is to advance a green hydrogen pipeline from Lisbon in Portugal to Ciudad Real in Spain with a branch extended to Cáceres.
The group is also focused on energy transition projects based on the renewable energies such as solar, biomass and hydroelectric.
Extremadura New Energies says there is potential to assess the supply of renewable energy through a photovoltaic installation and the generation of green hydrogen in direct alignment to its San José project.
The subsidiary is examining possible sites near Cáceres for renewable energy installations that will assist the energy requirements of the project.
Extremadura New Energies Chief Executive Officer, Ramón Jiménez said: “The new project designed by Extremadura New Energies is proposing the use of green hydrogen for calcining and roasting of the lithium bearing materials instead of natural gas. The use of green hydrogen facilitates the material reduction in the CO2 footprint of the battery grade lithium chemicals to be produced on site in Cáceres.”
Extremadura says its green hydrogen proposal adds to the planned use of 100 per cent renewable energy and the incorporation of electric vehicles.
It plans to create an environmentally and socially viable project with minimal sources of energy emissions.
The company says the project’s potential carbon footprint makes the plant unique in Europe and meets the highest standards of sustainability.
The San José lithium project has one of Europe's largest JORC-compliant hard-rock lithium deposits with a 111 million tonne resource going 0.61 per cent lithium oxide.
The project is a fully integrated industrial operation centred on the manufacturing of battery-grade lithium compounds from a mica feedstock.
Infinity has shown it is willing to work with the local community and stakeholders on a project that benefits the region economically and addresses potential environmental and social issues.
It originally proposed an open pit mine, however last year the company undertook a scoping study to evaluate underground-only mining.
The company believes the study has shown the potential for an underground mine to generate increased quantities of battery-grade lithium chemicals whilst reducing the need for surface tailings and preventing any major visible impact from the mine.
This week Infinity was invited to present its redesigned development proposal to the Extremadura Regional Government and the Cáceres City Council after a request from the city’s mayor Luis Salaya.
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By Matt Birney
