
Reinventing a carbon heavy past for a green energy future

Weardale Lithium
This pilot processing plant for clean energy client Weardale Lithium aims to contribute to the ‘just transition’ to a carbon-zero economy by sustainably producing battery-grade lithium and generating geothermal energy.
Weardale is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty located in the North Pennines in County Durham. It is known for its incredible landscapes and is visited every year by many tourists. It is also one of only two lithium sources in the UK. Lithium-rich brine, extracted from a borehole in Weardale, comes from water running under the North Pennines.
The supply of domestic lithium is of strategic importance to the UK’s net zero ambitions and production of high-value batteries for electric vehicles. A secure domestic supply of battery-grade lithium will provide significant environmental and economic benefits, as well as reduce the UK’s exposure to global supply chain disruptions.
The extraction process pioneered at Weardale requires 95% less land than conventional lithium extraction processes, with very little disruption to the landscape. All that will be left after operations are a few manhole covers, and so the natural beauty of the Weardale region will be preserved for future generations.


Details
Group Ginger’s design for this BREEAM Outstanding brownfield processing plant is an exercise in circular economy thinking and regenerative design. By re-purposing the 35 acre degraded post industrial landscape of the former LaFarge Tarmac cement works site and making use of existing infrastructure including an electricity substation and main highway access the project will save thousands of kg of embodied carbon.