Proof in the Brine: Germany Puts European Lithium to the Test

German pilots show brine lithium can reach battery grade, marking progress toward local supply as economics and regulation are tested

20 Dec 2025

Europe’s effort to build a domestic lithium supply is moving into a more concrete phase, as pilot projects in eastern Germany demonstrate that lithium extracted from underground brines can be refined to battery-grade quality.

The work is centred on the Altmark region, where lithium-rich brines lie deep beneath the surface alongside mature natural gas fields. Instead of conventional mining or evaporation ponds, companies are testing direct lithium extraction, a process that separates lithium directly from brine using compact surface facilities.

Neptune Energy has become a focal point of these trials, using Altmark as a test site for next-generation extraction technologies. In recent pilot campaigns, the company said lithium recovered from local brines was converted into lithium carbonate that met battery industry purity standards. The work was carried out with US-based technology provider Lilac Solutions.

“This shows that lithium from European brines can meet industrial standards,” Lilac Solutions said after the trials, citing successful separation of lithium from other minerals present in the brine.

The results mark a shift from laboratory testing to field-scale validation, although the projects remain at pilot and demonstration stage. No final investment decisions have yet been taken.

Altmark offers practical advantages. Existing wells, pipelines and surface facilities built for decades of gas production could be reused for lithium extraction, potentially reducing capital costs and limiting new land use. Such reuse fits with Europe’s efforts to develop critical raw materials with a lower environmental footprint.

Underlying interest is also driven by resource estimates. Studies referenced by German geological authorities have pointed to lithium resources in the Altmark basin of about 40mn tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, often cited at around 43mn tonnes. These figures describe lithium in place rather than economically recoverable reserves, and depend on future technical and commercial performance.

Europe currently relies heavily on imported lithium, leaving battery and electric vehicle manufacturers exposed to global price swings and supply risks. Policymakers in Brussels and national capitals have made local sourcing of critical minerals a priority.

Significant hurdles remain. Developers must still prove that direct lithium extraction can operate at scale, at competitive cost, and within regulatory frameworks designed for oil and gas rather than mineral production.

Even so, the Altmark pilots suggest that Europe’s lithium strategy is beginning to move beyond planning. Germany’s brine experiments point to a possible, if still uncertain, path towards local supply.