Ashurst advised green lithium producer Vulcan Energy Resources Limited (Vulcan Energy) on the acquisition of a geothermal power plant from Pfalzwerke AG. Vulcan Energy has acquired the geothermal power plant located at Insheim in Germany's Upper Rhine Valley for a price of €31.5m.
The geothermal power plant pumps thermal brine from a depth of over 3,000 metres to the surface, generating 4.8 MW of renewable power. Vulcan Energy is aiming to use the power plant also for the production of green lithium for the manufacturing of electric vehicle lithium batteries. To this end, Vulcan Energy will extract the lithium dissolved in the extracted brine before the brine is reinjected from the geothermal power plant into the reservoir. The innovative technology does not involve the emission of greenhouse gases, as the energy for the lithium production is supplied by the geothermal power plant.
Ashurst also provides ongoing advice to Vulcan Energy on lithium supply agreements with car manufacturers like Volkswagen, Renault and Stellantis. In addition, Ashurst advised Vulcan Energy on the conclusion of a 20-year supply contract for thermal brine from another geothermal plant in Landau/Germany.
The Ashurst team comprises partner Dr Maximilian Uibeleisen (Energy & Infrastructure/M&A), counsel Martina Rothe (Corporate/M&A), Holger Mlynek (Energy & Infrastructure/Commercial Contracts) and Volker Germann (Corporate) as well as associates Dr Simon Groneberg (Energy) and Quynh Anh Le (Corporate).
