Direct Lithium-Extraction (DLE) Symposium

Our 2nd Edition will take place October 9th and 10th 2025 at KIT!
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ABOUT SDLE

We are proud to announce that the second edition of the Direct Lithium Extraction Symposium will take place October 9th and 10th 2025 at KIT to bring together leading experts from research and industry. This symposium will delve into the latest advancements and innovative technologies in the field of direct lithium extraction (DLE), fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange to drive forward this critical sector.

 

IMPORTANT DATES

Registration                               opens: 15.05.2025

                                                     registration deadline: 15.08.2025

                                                      extended to 30.08.2025!  

                                                     please contact Fabian Jeschull for late registration options.

Poster Abstracts                      submit your abstract here

                                                      submission deadline: 31.07.2025

                                                      extended to 15.08.2025!

Final Program                            planned for August 31st

DLE Symposium                        October 9th and 10th

Tentative Program
  Thursday
2025/10/9		 Friday
2025/10/10
8.00 Reception opens 8.00 am  
  Morning Session I Morning Session III
9.00 Keynote Talk: Victoria Flexer (National University of Jujuy, CONICET)
Integrated membrane approaches for lithium recovery from SouthAmerican natural brines		 Ernest J. Calvo (University of Buenos Aires, CONICET, LitiAR)
Towards Scaling up a Rocking Chair Flow-Through Reactor For The Direct Electrochemical Lithium Extraction (e-DLE) From Brine By Li+ Intercalation
9.30 Fabian Nitschke (KIT)
BRIDGE – German-Chilean Research Institute for Raw Material Extraction from Geo-Fluids		 Invited: Elisabeth Gorman (Evonik)
Electrochemical Lithium extraction from DLE-eluates
9.50 Invited: Humberto Estay (AMTC)
Integration of membrane separation technologies in direct lithium extraction processes		 Invited: Jeppe Klitgaard (Nanonord)
Lithium Concentration Determination using NMR Relaxometry
10.10 Ali Dashti (KIT)
Sustainable Lithium Production in Salar de Atacama: Effects of Geological and Operational Constraints		 Invited: John Worth (Geo40)
Processing complex brines with unique DLE - navigating silica, boron and CO2.
10.30 Coffee Break (10.30-11.10) Coffee Break (10.30-11.10)
  Morning Session II Morning Session IV
11.10 Invited: Andrea Calderon (University of Córdoba, CONICET)
25 Years of Lithium Extraction in Argentina: Impacts Beyond the Technology		 Invited: Karl Pfaffenbach (Evove)
DLE LiVE - outcomes from 1:15 scale demo trials at Northern Lithium
11.30 Invited: TBA (Hatch)
TBA		 Joscha Fürniß (EnBW)
TBA
11.50 Nicolas Jacquemet (Independent geochemical modeler)
A PHREEQC model of an experimental test of Li2CO3 precipitation from Li brine and gaseous CO2

Siri Maria Skaftun (SINTEF)

Lithium recovery by advanced electrodialysis
12.05 Sophie Oeppling (DVGW Research Center at Engler-Bunte-Institut @KIT)
Evaluation of the impact of Li-extraction technologies on subsurface geology 		 Evangelia Kardamaki (Fraunhofer IPM)
Real-Time LIBS-Based Lithium Monitoring During Direct Lithium Extraction 
12.20 Lunch break (12.20 - 13.50)

Stephanie Arnold (Saarland University)
Electrochemical perspectives for Li-ion battery recycling 
12.35  

Usman Saleem (NTNU)

Direct Lithium Extraction from Acidic Leachates of Spent Batteries
12.50   End of Symposium
  Afternoon Session I  
13.50 Keynote: Sarbajit Banerjee, PSI/ETH
Insertion Chemistry for Direct Lithium Extraction and Isotope Enrichment		  
14.20 Invited: Laura Herrmann (EnBW/KIT)
TBA		  
14.40 Invited: Iklima Oral (Vulcan Energy)
Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate from Europe for Europe 
using Renewable Energies		  
15.00

Invited: Matthew Lloyd (LevertonHELM)

TBA

  
15.15 Vito Di Noto (Univ. Padova)
Selective Lithium Extraction from Geologic Brines via Functional Cation-Exchange Ionomers		  
15.35 Group Picture  
15.40 Coffee Break (15.45-16.20)  
  Afternoon Session II  
16.20 Keynote: Hans-Georg Steinrück (Forschungszentrum Jülich)
Cross-scale understanding of electrochemical lithium extraction		  
16.50 Mohsen Sadeqi Moqadam (NTNU)
Influence of Particle Size on the Lithium Extraction Performance of LiMn2O2 Adsorbents		  
17.05 Paul-Louis Wöhrlin (Fraunhofer ISE)
Commissioning of a demonstration system for the recovery of lithium via electrochemical ion pumping (EIP)		  
17.20

Caroline Keller (CEA)

Electrochemical Lithium-Ion Pumping Applied to Li-ion Batteries Recycling

  
17.35 Kök Cansu (Leibniz Institute for New Materials)
Tailored MXene Electrodes for Selective and Stable Electrochemical Lithium Recovery in Aqueous Solutions		  
18.00 Apéro & Poster Session (18.00 - 19.30)  

 

Our last year’s program (October 2024) you can find under this link.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

We invite all participants to contribute with an oral or poster presentation on their recent work. Abstract submission will open as of 15.05.2025. We accept abstracts within the scope of the following topics:

  • Liquid / solid Li extraction technologies
  • Membrane & precipitation technologies
  • Conversion to battery grade precursors and energy materials
  • Electrochem. Li extraction & Desalination Technologies
  • Concentration & Purification of Li-brines
  • Process engineering of DLE processes of brines
  • Geological studies related to Li resources, exploitation and water management

A dedicated session for our recently granted German-Chilean partnership “BRIDGE” will be hosted on Thursday, October 9th. Therefore, we welcome contributions on the Li extraction from continental brines and related subjects in particular.

Only abstracts adhering strictly to the abstract template will be accepted. The abstract template is provided during the submission process. Abstracts can be submitted through our online submission system  until July 31st 2025 August 15th 2025. Letters of Invitation are sent out on a rolling basis via email to the corresponding authors of all accepted abstracts.

Abstract Submission Portal

The abstract template is available here. 

Important information for presenting participants

Poster presentations must be in English. Poster sizes should be DIN A0 (portrait format). All presenters will receive a Poster-ID to find their designated poster wall. The poster walls will be available with begin of the welcome reception. Please mind to remove the poster latest Friday morning.

The symposium is first and foremost an in-person meeting to promote scientific exchange and foster networking possibilities in our community.

REGISTRATION

Conference Fee : 250 EUR

Registration Deadline: August 15th August 30th

Please choose the appropriate link below in order to start the registration and payment process depending on whether you are external participant or KIT member.

Registration for external participants (non-KIT)

Registration for KIT members / employees

The participation fee includes coffee, drinks and snacks throughout the duration of the symposium, lunch on Thursday as well as catering during the poster session Thursday evening.

VENUE

The symposium will take place at KIT Campus South directly in central Karlsruhe nearby the Karlsruhe palace. The university campus can be readily reached on foot or by tram (stop “Durlacher Tor / KIT” or “Kronenplatz”).

The event will be hosted in NTI (faculty of Communications Technology), building 30.10, room 030 (ground floor), Engesserstraße 5, 76131 Karlsruhe.

A campus plan can be found here: https://www.kit.edu/campusplan/ (searchable by building and faculty).