Vulcan (VUL) – Lionheart moves from plan to full‑scale construction

Vulcan has announced that major construction works are now underway at its central lithium chemicals plant at Infraserv Industrial Park Höchst in Frankfurt. This is the downstream plant that will convert lithium chloride into lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) using electrolysis.

This isn’t the first spade in the ground for Lionheart. The company is explicit that this groundbreaking follows a similar ceremony at the upstream lithium extraction plant in Landau late last year, and that this marks the transition “from preparatory works to full scale construction activities in the downstream as well as upstream components of Lionheart.” In other words, both ends of the chain are now in build phase.

Lionheart is Phase One of Vulcan’s broader Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field strategy. The targets are:

• 24,000 tonnes per annum of LHM,
• enough for around 500,000 EV batteries per year, and
• co‑products of 275 GWh of renewable power and 560 GWh of heat per annum for local consumers, over an estimated 30‑year project life.

The funding piece is already locked in. Vulcan secured a €2.2bn (~$3.9bn) funding package in December 2025 and made a positive Final Investment Decision on Lionheart. This announcement is not about “seeking funding” or “subject to FID” — it’s confirming that FID is done and construction is underway.

The process is designed as an integrated system:

• lithium is extracted from low‑impurity geothermal brines using Vulcan’s adsorption‑type DLE technology
• the naturally heated brine powers production and conversion, creating renewable energy as a co‑product
• lithium chloride is transported via pipeline to the central lithium plant in Frankfurt
• there it is converted to battery‑grade LHM using electrolysis
• surplus renewable power and heat are sold into the local energy market

The announcement also makes it clear that Lionheart is intended to be the first of multiple phases, with licences and future phases flagged at Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. The Frankfurt plant is permitted for capacity beyond Lionheart.

I’m not making a valuation call here. The factual takeaway from this release is:

• FID is done
• funding is secured
• upstream (Landau) and downstream (Frankfurt) components of Lionheart are both in construction
• offtake is already contracted, and further phases are in planning

In a sector full of lithium stories that never get past studies and slide decks, Vulcan now has a funded, integrated project under construction at both ends of the chain. Bring on 2028!

ISC: Holding IRL & SM Buying more on weakness, around $3.00

Vulcan’s 2025 Sustainability Report

The report actually contains a few material signals worth noting — not for the marketing, but for the de‑risking.

The standout is the updated ESIA. After incorporating new biodiversity data, design refinements and the Hasenberg well relocation, all environmental and social impacts for Lionheart are now assessed as “minor or less”, with most classed as “insignificant”. For a geothermal + lithium project in Europe, that’s unusually clean. It removes the biggest long‑tail permitting risk.

The second signal is the €2.2B financing package. This wasn’t just capital — lenders required a full ESIA, climate‑risk assessment and a green‑finance framework before signing. Whatever one thinks about the tech, the banks have effectively validated the project’s environmental and operational assumptions.

Third, Vulcan produced Europe’s first domestic battery‑grade LHM from brine at CLEOP. Not pilot vapourware — actual product. Combined with 19,300 MWh of renewable electricity and 4,600 MWh of geothermal heat already generated, the business is behaving more like a utility‑plus‑lithium operation than a typical junior.

Execution risk remains, but the sustainability report shows the project is moving from concept to infrastructure. Worth keeping on the radar as construction ramps.

Vulcan Energy (VUL) – First Lithium Production Licence Secured

Vulcan has finally landed its first lithium production licence for the Lionheart Project in the Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field. This is the first permit of its kind issued in the region, and it sits on top of the €2.2bn financing they closed late last year. The project is funded, in construction, and now has its first production approval.

A few points worth noting:

1. This licence covers the Insheim geothermal area

This isn’t a greenfield permit. Insheim is already producing renewable heat and power. The lithium overlay is being added to an existing, operating geothermal system. That reduces execution risk compared to a typical lithium project.

2. Lionheart’s scale is meaningful

They’re targeting 24kt of lithium hydroxide per year, plus 275 GWh of power and 560 GWh of heat. It’s a 30‑year project life. This is industrial infrastructure, not a drill‑and‑hope story.

3. Initial licence term is six years, extendable to 30

Standard German mining regulation. They’ll extend it to match the field development plan.

4. First production still targeted for 2028

Today’s approval is another step toward that timeline. Nothing new on schedule, but it removes one of the remaining regulatory hurdles.

5. Bigger picture: EU supply chain resilience

Germany and the EU want domestic lithium. Vulcan is positioning itself as the first integrated geothermal‑lithium producer in Europe. This permit is part of that broader policy push.

Overall, this is a straightforward de‑risking announcement. Funding is in place, construction is underway, and now the first production licence is granted. Still plenty of work ahead, but this is a real milestone, not a marketing one.

Disc: IRL and SM, totally in the red, it is a long term story.