Sustainable off-grid power for a lithium extraction mine

The customer was developing a lithium extraction pilot plant as part of a new venture designed to meet the exponential growth in demand for battery-grade lithium driven by the booming electric vehicle market. They had designed a differentiated direct lithium extraction process that would enable the production of high-purity, battery-grade lithium material in a matter of weeks. This was an impressive evolution from previous processes which took over a year.

The plant needed a sustainable energy solution that met all the environmental requirements of the Nevada Bureau of Land Management to gain a permit. The site was in a remote location with no grid access and harsh weather conditions including snow and hurricanes, so the customer needed a supplier that could quickly provide reliable energy with minimal emissions.

To meet the sustainability and low-emission requirements of the Nevada Bureau of Land Management, Aggreko designed a solution using low-emission Tier 4 Final generators, load banks, and modified booster pumps to extract fuel from existing tanks. These load-sensing load banks are designed to maintain minimum load requirements while minimizing the power provided by the generators. We also provided backup units to ensure full redundancy in any scenario. To further improve sustainability, we connected to the customers heat exchangers to capture heat from the generators to reuse on the site without installing extra heating equipment. And to fully comply with Nevada Bureau of Land Management requirements, the equipment was also completely fenced in so as not to disturb the local wildlife.

All the equipment was configured for remote monitoring so that Aggreko could ensure continual optimum performance and report on exactly how much power was being used and when. As well as connecting everything to Aggreko Remote Monitoring (ARM), we were able to customize the controller so that the customer could connect to their own systems and utilize the data.

By using Aggreko’s Tier 4 Final generators the customer reduced emissions by 95% compared to other diesel generators. They also made further emissions and fuel savings by connecting heat exchangers to the generators so that the heat they created could be recycled for use elsewhere at the plant. By building full redundancy into the solution, we ensured that even in the harshest conditions there were no outages and production could always continue.

The data collected via ARM allowed us to ensure that the generators were only running when they were needed, increasing the intervals at which maintenance was required to keep them running optimally. By connecting this data to the customer’s internal systems, they were also able to identify further opportunities for reducing equipment use and making extra savings.