Vulcan Energy Resources Limited has been granted its second commercial lithium production licence for the flagship Lionheart Project in Germany’s Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field.

Issued by the Mining Authority of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the licence is designated Ilka and covers the company’s Landau geothermal production permit area, which already generates renewable heat. It follows Vulcan’s earlier permit grant for the LiThermEx area in March 2026, marking the expansion of the project’s permitted operational footprint.

The Ilka licence carries an initial validity period of six years, running until 9 September 2032. Following this period, Vulcan plans to combine the Ilka and LiThermEx permits into a single title granted for a minimum duration of 30 years, aligning with the Lionheart Field Development Plan.

Lionheart represents the company’s first phase of commercial lithium production. The integrated development targets an annual production capacity of 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate—sufficient for approximately 500,000 electric vehicle batteries per year—alongside co-products of 275 GWh of renewable power and 560 GWh of heat annually over an estimated 30-year project life.

Construction and field development are advancing toward targeted first production in 2028. Civil construction at the Landau geothermal power plant got underway in July 2026 following the completion of bulk earthworks, while major construction works at the central lithium chemical plant in Frankfurt started in April 2026. These activities follow the financial close achieved on the project’s €2.2 billion financing package in late May 2026.

“Securing our second lithium production licence is another important achievement for Lionheart and further validates the progress we are making towards becoming Europe's leading producer of strategic, low-cost lithium. We thank the Mining Authority in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate for their ongoing collaboration during this process. The Lionheart construction remains on track, and we look forward to providing our shareholders with further updates as we progress to targeted first production in 2028.”

— Cris Moreno, Managing Director and CEO

Project construction and development activities continue across the Upper Rhine Valley as the company advances toward its operational milestones.

Read the full announcement: Second lithium production licence secured for Lionheart