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MIT researchers and Boston-area partners have unveiled an aqueous ammonium fluoride (NH4F) process to extract lithium from hard-rock spodumene that could upend conventional roasting-and-acid methods. Operating at far lower temperatures (~70°C for key steps) the chemistry converts lithium into soluble lithium fluoride while forming separable ammonium-fluoro aluminum and silicon complexes. Those byproducts can be processed into commercial aluminum and silicon products, and released ammonia and HF are recombined to regenerate NH4F, closing the reagent loop and cutting waste. If scalable, the method promises lower energy use, reduced sulfur waste, and a more diversified, potentially cheaper lithium supply for battery supply chains.
Lower-energy, low-waste lithium extraction could reduce battery supply chain costs and emissions while diversifying feedstocks, affecting mining, refining, and battery materials planning for tech companies.
Dossier last updated: 2026-06-02 08:29:48
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.