Vulcan Energy Brings VULSORB Manufacturing In-House as Lionheart Countdown Begins

Vulcan Energy begins commercial VULSORB adsorbent production in Germany, feeding its Lionheart lithium project set for commissioning in H2 2028.

Vulcan Energy has flipped the switch on commercial production of VULSORB, its proprietary alumina-based adsorbent, at a facility in Germany. The material sits at the core of the company's direct lithium extraction (A-DLE) process and will supply the initial fill of extraction columns for the Lionheart project planned in the Upper Rhine Valley straddling the German-French border.

Production is being handled through a tolling arrangement with a European partner and will be spread across the next 18 to 24 months. According to the company, the adsorbent delivers lithium extraction efficiency of up to 95% under operating conditions and withstands several thousand operating cycles. The volumes now being manufactured are earmarked for Lionheart, which remains on track for commissioning in the second half of 2028.

A Supply Chain Built Outside China

The decision to manufacture VULSORB in-house is as much about geopolitics as it is about chemistry. China's export controls on raw materials and technologies, introduced at the start of 2025, laid bare how exposed Western battery projects had become to Asian supply chains. Vulcan Energy stresses that both the intellectual property and the entire supply chain behind VULSORB sit outside China, positioning the product as one of the few genuine alternatives grounded in Western-owned technology.

CEO Cris Moreno said the A-DLE method is increasingly being chosen across the industry as the preferred route for extracting lithium from thermal brine. The adsorbent itself had already cleared industrial-scale testing, where it hit that same 95% extraction efficiency figure under real-world conditions before the commercial run was given the green light.

What Lionheart Will Deliver

The Upper Rhine Valley venture is designed to produce 24,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate annually — enough, on paper, to equip roughly 500,000 electric vehicle batteries. Tied to the lithium output is the generation of 275 gigawatt-hours of electricity and 560 gigawatt-hours of heat per year, across an estimated project lifespan of around 30 years.

Regulatory groundwork has been advancing in parallel. Roughly two weeks ago, Vulcan Energy secured the Ilka field production licence for geothermal brine extraction. That permit is to be linked with the existing LiThermEx site, underpinning a minimum operating period of 30 years. Management is also looking further down the road: a preliminary feasibility study for the follow-up Ludwig project envisions a later capacity expansion, building on the process know-how gathered during the first phase.

Market Reaction Stays Muted

Shareholders have yet to be swept up in the operational momentum. Since the Ilka licence was announced some two weeks ago, the stock has shed 8.1%. The confirmation of the Lionheart production start date about a week ago was followed by a 3.8% decline. On Friday, the shares closed at EUR 1.38.

In German trading today, the stock managed a modest rebound, gaining 0.7% to EUR 1.38. Even so, the equity remains pinned close to its 52-week low of EUR 1.35, a level touched only last week. What the VULSORB ramp-up does provide is tangible evidence that a critical link in the extraction chain can be sourced without leaning on Asian technology exports — a proof point the company will need as it works toward first production at Lionheart.