KEY POINTS
- Cornish Lithium secured £7.2m in UK government funding for a £14.5m drilling and testing programme.
- The project will include two 2,000m production wells, a lithium extraction demonstration plant and an appraisal well at Baldhu.
- The company says its projects could supply nearly 40% of the UK’s domestic lithium target, create over 700 jobs and contribute £3.8bn to Cornwall’s economy.
Cornish Lithium has secured £7.2 million in UK government grant funding to advance drilling, testing and lithium extraction activities at its Cross Lanes geothermal lithium project in Cornwall, England.
The funding, awarded through the UK Government’s DRIVE35 programme, will support a wider £14.5 million drilling and testing programme aimed at determining whether the project can move towards commercial lithium production.
The £7.2 million grant will be matched pound-for-pound by Cornish Lithium, providing the company with the funding required to undertake a major exploration and testing programme.
The investment is expected to strengthen the technical and economic assessment of the Cross Lanes project while helping the UK advance its plans to develop a domestic supply of lithium.
Lithium is a key raw material for batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems, making secure domestic supplies increasingly important to the UK’s clean-energy ambitions.
Two production wells planned at Cross Lanes
As part of the programme, Cornish Lithium plans to drill two production wells, each reaching a depth of about 2,000 metres.
The company will also operate a direct lithium extraction demonstration plant at Cross Lanes. The facility is expected to provide further information on the technical feasibility and efficiency of extracting lithium from geothermal waters.
In addition, the company plans to drill an appraisal well at the nearby Baldhu site. The drilling will help determine whether further lithium resources are present in the area.
Cornish Lithium’s plans build on exploration work carried out in 2023, when drilling and testing confirmed the presence of lithium-enriched geothermal waters circulating naturally through underground rock formations.
The discovery provided the basis for further investigation of the resource and its potential for commercial development.
The company subsequently secured planning consent for the development of the site, allowing additional testing and evaluation work to proceed.
Cornish Lithium CEO Jamie Airnes said the government funding demonstrated the strategic importance of Cornwall to the UK’s clean-energy ambitions.
According to Airnes, the company’s projects could eventually supply nearly 40% of the UK government’s domestic lithium production target.
The company believes developing lithium resources within the UK could contribute to a more secure and lower-carbon supply chain while reducing dependence on imported raw materials.
Cornish Lithium also expects the development of its projects to generate significant economic benefits for Cornwall.
Airnes said the company’s projects could contribute about £3.8 billion to the Cornish economy over the next 25 years.
The projects are also projected to create more than 700 long-term jobs, potentially providing employment opportunities in areas including engineering, mining, technology and energy.
The company said the development could also help retain skilled workers in Cornwall by creating long-term career opportunities locally.
