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Marcellus Shale a New Potential Source of Domestically Produced Lithium
It has been 20 years since the discovery that the Marcellus Shale formation beneath Pennsylvania and nearby states could support the nation’s natural gas needs well into the future. Now, another exciting discovery will potentially place Pennsylvania at the national energy forefront again. According to data assembled by researchers at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), produced water from Marcellus Shale gas wells could supply up to 40 percent of the country’s demand for a critical element, lithium, which is a key component of rechargeable batteries that power a wide range of electronic devices, including smartphones, computers, and electric vehicles. Additionally, although not the focus of the NETL research, other critical elements, such as strontium and cobalt, are also known to be present in fracking production water.
While many questions exist about the efficiency and environmental ramifications of extracting lithium and other critical elements from Marcellus Shale production water, requirements of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to source the raw materials used in EV battery components domestically by 2030, and the expected focus of the Trump administration to rely more heavily on domestic sources of energy, may spur the research needed to further develop necessary innovations. Look for the domestic sourcing of energy and critical resources to be a focus of onshoring industries over the next four years.
