Is fracking inadvertently bringing us another green energy boost? Ironically, the much maligned technology has been in the headlines in recent months not just due to its negative environmental externalities, but its potential to help save the planet. This year hydraulic fracturing technology used to extract oil and gas has gotten a lot of attention for its ability to tap into potentially limitless geothermal energy sources anywhere in the United States. Now, experts are saying that it could provide a key source of lithium to help power and stabilize renewable energy grids and produce electric vehicle batteries.

Wastewater produced by the fracking industry could potentially produce close to half of the United States’ lithium demands, according to novel research from a team of scientists from the University of Pittsburgh and the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Lab. There are particularly potent concentrations of lithium in the wastewater produced in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formation, but could be present in commercially viable concentrations in other sources of the 2.8 billion liters of produced water that the nation’s fracking industry creates each and every day. 

“We found … that the produced water from the Marcellus has comparable amounts of lithium to the brine ponds in Chile, which is the global, dominant source of lithium in the world,” said Justin Mackey, lead author of the research study and former natural gas consultant in an interview with WHYY’s News Climate Desk. “And more importantly, it has comparable lithium concentrations to the Arkansas Smackover [formation] and other formations that are actively being targeted for brine mining in the U.S.”

This “produced water” is a byproduct of the hydraulic fracturing process, which works by drilling deep into the earth and injecting water into wells to push natural gas to the surface. With that released gas comes a whole lot of water that has been sitting in that shale formation for hundreds of thousands of years, where it has turned into a highly salty brine containing myriad toxins such as  benzene, toluene, heavy metals, and even naturally occurring radioactive substances. And, apparently, a whole lot of lithium in some cases. 

The ability to source commercially meaningful quantities of lithium from fracking wastewater would be a huge win for the domestic clean energy industry. Lithium is already in huge demand due to the global decarbonization movement, and is expected to skyrocket in coming years. Lithium demand for battery-making alone is expected to increase ten-fold between 2020 and 2030, according to estimates from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In a net-zero scenario, 250,000 to 450,000 tonnes of lithium will be needed by 2030. This represents an incredible increase in production – as the entire world produced just 105 tonnes in 2021. 

This demand surge stands to place enormous geopolitical power into the hands of the nations that control the global lithium supply, and right now that overwhelmingly means China. As of 2022, China alone controlled almost ten percent of global lithium reserves and a whopping 72% of lithium refining capacity. The United States has been making a late push to become competitive in lithium markets, but still only has one operational lithium plant in the entire country – Nevada’s Silver Peak facility – and is struggling to shore up lithium trade agreements with other countries.

While the United States has been making inroads toward increasing domestic lithium production, mining lithium is a highly contentious and often environmentally devastating endeavor. “Expanding America’s lithium industry […] is highly controversial, as mining can destroy natural environments, leach toxic chemicals, and intrude on sacred Indigenous land,” Science Alert reports. 

Extracting lithium from produced water from existing fracking operations could therefore be a win-win for the United States. It could help the country regain geopolitical footing in the global clean energy race, catalyze the nation’s decarbonization efforts, and mitigate negative effects of lithium production. There is some cause for concern that such a practice would extend the life of fracking operations and greenwash what is inarguably a high-emissions, environmentally hazardous energy sector. But for now, wastewater is an undeniable fact of our energy industry – why waste it? 

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com 

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