Vulcan shares soar on green lithium PFS

Perth-based Vulcan Energy Resources has released a positive pre-feasibility study for its lithium project in Germany, which the company says will have a zero-carbon footprint.

Vulcan plans to produce both geothermal energy and lithium hydroxide from its Zero Carbon Lithium (ZCL) project, situated in the Upper Rhine Valley.

The company has released a maiden probable ore reserve for ZCL, which stands at 1.12 million tonnes at 181 milligrams per litre of lithium carbonate.

The project holds a pre-tax net present value of €2.25 billion ($A3.5 billion) at an internal rate of return of 26 per cent, while initial capital costs are expected to be €226 million ($A353.6 million) and full-project CAPEX €1.74 billion ($A2.72 billion).

Managing director Francis Wedin, also an ambassador of Better Futures Australia, said the PFS demonstrated robust economics for both the lithium and energy parts of the project.

“This means that there doesn’t need to be a compromise on the ethical and environmental sourcing of battery raw materials, for Europe’s current rapid transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy storage,” he said.

“We’ve shown the potential for zero carbon production of lithium hydroxide, with co-production of renewable geothermal energy, to be highly profitable as well as environmentally friendly.”

Mr Wedin said Vulcan would now work on a definitive feasibility study for the project, as well as scale up its lithium extraction piloting and advance offtake discussions with European entities.

Vulcan's shares dropped back to $6.59 at 2:30pm AEST, up 32 per cent on its last traded price on Monday.