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Researchers and a startup are commercializing an ammonium‑fluoride–based process that could transform lithium production from hard‑rock spodumene. Developed at MIT and spun out as Rock Zero, the method dissolves silicate minerals in stirred tanks at modest temperatures (~70–95°C), freeing lithium as lithium fluoride and converting silicon and aluminum into saleable fluoride salts without producing hazardous HF or requiring energy‑intensive roasting. The approach shortens processing time from days to hours, enables recycling of ammonia to regenerate NH4F, reduces sulfurous waste, and could lower costs and emissions while expanding usable ore supplies—potentially reshaping battery supply chains and mining impacts.
This matters because a low‑energy, low‑waste method for extracting lithium from hard rock could lower production costs, reduce emissions and expand supply for battery materials, affecting mining, processing and battery supply chains.
Dossier last updated: 2026-05-29 12:35:06
Researchers at MIT, together with Boston-area companies, reported in Science an energy-efficient process to extract lithium from hard-rock ores like spodumene that reduces heat requirements and regenerates reagents. Instead of the conventional 1,000°C roast and sulfuric-acid leach, their wet process uses ammonium fluoride (NH4F) in water at ~70°C to convert lithium into soluble lithium fluoride while converting silicon and aluminum into separable ammonium-fluoro complexes. Those aluminum and silicon species are processed to yield commercial aluminum oxide and silicon products, and released ammonia and hydrogen fluoride are recombined to regenerate NH4F, minimizing waste. The method could lower costs and environmental impact of non-brine lithium production, affecting battery supply chains and cleantech manufacturing.
MIT researchers published a Science paper describing a low-cost, low-emissions method to extract lithium from silicate minerals using a weak acid; startup Rock Zero is already moving to commercialize the technique, and MIT professor Yet-Ming Chiang predicts it could become the cheapest global lithium source. Separately, a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Bundibugyo virus) has proven hard to contain, with recent health-worker deaths highlighting limits of treatments and local challenges. The newsletter also flags AI policy and industry news: Anthropic’s valuation surge, Blue Origin’s New Glenn test failure, surveillance risks from mobile-phone data, and Anthropic’s Mythos AI rollout and Claude Opus update.
MIT researchers and Boston-area partners report in Science a lower-energy, low-waste method to extract lithium from hard rock spodumene using recyclable ammonium fluoride chemistry. Instead of roasting ore at ~1,000°C and producing sulfur waste, the process dissolves NH4F in water, forms NH4F2 ions at ~70°C that fluorinate lithium to lithium fluoride while converting silicon and aluminum into ammonium fluoro-complexes. Those complexes are thermally processed to yield aluminum oxide and silicon products used commercially; released ammonia and HF are recombined to regenerate NH4F, closing the chemical loop. The approach could cut energy use and byproducts in lithium supply chains, easing battery-material constraints if scalable.
MIT researchers and Boston-area partners reported in Science an energy-efficient, low-waste process to extract lithium from hard-rock spodumene. Instead of the conventional 1,000°C calcination and sulfuric-acid leach, their aqueous ammonium fluoride (NH4F) route operates at modest temperatures (~70–700°C steps), liberates lithium as lithium fluoride, and converts silicon and aluminum into commercially useful fluoride salts. Ammonia produced in early steps is recycled to regenerate NH4F and capture hazardous HF, reducing chemical waste and enabling byproduct valorization (aluminum oxide, silicon fluoride salts). The approach could lower energy use, minimize sulfur-containing waste, and diversify lithium supply beyond brines, with implications for battery supply chains and mining emissions.
Researchers published a Science paper and a startup, Rock Zero, is commercializing a new ammonium-fluoride–based extraction process that can dissolve silicate minerals to free lithium, alumina and silica without producing dangerous hydrofluoric acid. Led by MIT’s Yet-Ming Chiang and Rock Zero CEO Camden Hunt, the technique targets spodumene ore and avoids energy-intensive roasting kilns, cutting processing time from days to under 12 hours in recent tests. The method runs in stirred tanks at ~95°C, could lower costs and emissions, and may open up previously unusable ores. The work spun out of prior cement-electrochemistry research at Sublime Systems and aims to scale as a cheaper, greener lithium source for batteries and grid storage.