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Updated: May 31, 2026

Non-aqueous Electrode Processing and Construction of Lithium-ion Coin Cells
Published on: February 1, 2016
Valorization of lithium hardrock concentrates into battery raw materials and commodity products
Benjamin A W Mowbray1,2, Camden Hunt1,2, Kalyn M Fuelling1
1Department of Material Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Abstract:
The production of lithium chemicals needs to increase to meet rising demand for lithium batteries. Spodumene [LiAl(SiO3)2] is an abundant mineral source of lithium, but its extraction is not cost-competitive with brine resources. Current spodumene-refining methods are energy- and waste-intensive, requiring high-temperature roasting (>1000°C) and chemical leaching. We demonstrate a low-temperature, near-zero-waste process that converts α-spodumene into battery-grade lithium carbonate (Li2CO3), smelter-grade alumina (Al2O3), and cementitious silica (SiO2). Aqueous ammonium fluoride (NH4F) is used as the reagent to solubilize the mineral feedstock at <100°C in a closed-loop process that regenerates the reagent. Techno-economic analysis indicates that this approach may reduce the cost of producing lithium from α-spodumene by >40% and enable cost parity with brines.
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