- Researchers at Columbia Engineering developed S3E, a faster, cleaner method that uses a temperature-responsive solvent to extract lithium directly from underground brines.
- S3E extracts lithium up to 10 times higher than sodium and 12 times higher than potassium and can handle low-concentration or contaminated brines.
- Yip stated the system is fast, selective and easy to scale, and can be powered by low-grade heat from waste sources or solar collectors.
- Testing on synthetic brines mimicking California’s Salton Sea recovered nearly 40% of lithium over four cycles, enough to supply over 375 million EV batteries.
- The method aims to replace solar evaporation and hard rock mining, addressing water consumption and environmental damage in the lithium supply chain.
In a breakthrough that could reshape the electric vehicle industry and address one of clean energy's most persistent environmental dilemmas, researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a faster, cleaner method for extracting lithium from underground brines, including previously untapped sources that could power more than 375 million EV batteries.
The new process, detailed in the journal Joule, is called switchable solvent selective extraction, or S3E (pronounced S three E). It uses a temperature-responsive solvent to pull lithium directly from salty underground brines, even when lithium concentrations are low or contaminated with hard-to-separate minerals.
"This is a new way to do direct lithium extraction," said Ngai Yin Yip, La Von Duddleson Krumb Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University. "It's fast, selective and easy to scale. And it can be powered by low-grade heat from waste sources or solar collectors."
Why current methods fall short
About 40% of the world's lithium supply currently comes from salty underground brines, but producers rely heavily on solar evaporation, a process that pumps brine into enormous outdoor ponds and leaves it exposed to the sun for months or even years until enough water evaporates. This approach requires dry climates, flat terrain and vast stretches of land, making it practical only in select places such as Chile's Atacama Desert and parts of Nevada.
The method also consumes significant water in already water-stressed regions, a concern that has drawn criticism as demand for lithium surges alongside EV production and battery storage systems for renewable energy.
"There's no way solar evaporation alone can match future demand," Yip said. "And there are promising lithium-rich brines, like those in California's Salton Sea, where this method simply can't be used at all."
The S3E system works by exploiting how lithium ions interact with water molecules inside a solvent that changes behavior depending on temperature. At room temperature, the solvent absorbs lithium and water from the brine. Once heated, the system releases purified lithium and water while regenerating the solvent so it can be reused repeatedly.
During testing, the system extracted lithium at rates up to 10 times higher than sodium and 12 times higher than potassium. It also removed magnesium, one of the most common contaminants in lithium brines, through a chemical precipitation step that separates the unwanted material. Unlike many current direct lithium extraction systems, S3E does not depend on specialized binding chemicals or large amounts of postprocessing.
The Salton Sea connection
To test the system, researchers used synthetic brines designed to mimic conditions at California's Salton Sea, a geothermal region believed to contain enough lithium to supply more than 375 million EV batteries. The Salton Sea, now surrounded by desert sands due to poor management and droughts, has faced environmental challenges but could become a promising source of lithium.
After four extraction cycles using the same solvent batch, the team recovered nearly 40% of the lithium. The results suggest the technology could eventually support continuous large-scale operation.
However, the researchers emphasized that the project is still at the proof-of-concept stage and has not yet been fully optimized for efficiency or maximum lithium recovery. Even so, they believe S3E could become a viable alternative to evaporation ponds and hard rock mining, which currently dominate global lithium production.
"We talk about green energy all the time," Yip said. "But we rarely talk about how dirty some of the supply chains are. If we want a truly sustainable transition, we need cleaner ways to get the materials it depends on. This is one step in that direction."
The timing of the breakthrough is critical. With investors promoting lithium extraction at the Salton Sea, where plans call for pumping hot liquid from more than 4,000 feet below the surface using an aquifer and in other regions of Nevada, Arkansas and North Dakota, the industry needs technologies that can handle lower-quality brines while minimizing environmental damage.
The Columbia Engineering team believes S3E could help solve one of clean energy's dirtiest problems: producing the lithium needed for batteries without draining precious water supplies or relying on massive evaporation ponds that take years to yield results.
As noted by BrightU.AI's Enoch, as automakers ramp up EV production and energy companies build larger battery systems to support wind and solar power, the pressure to find cleaner, faster lithium sources will only intensify. The S3E method, while still in its early stages, offers a glimpse of how science might rise to meet that challenge.
Watch this video about the unstoppable electric vehicle transition.
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