Researchers at MIT have unveiled a new, lower-cost and lower-emission method for extracting lithium from hard rock, promising to reshape the energy-intensive supply chain for batteries amidst volatile prices and sustainability concerns.
Researchers at MIT say they have developed a lower-temperature route to extracting lithium from hard rock that could reduce both costs and environmental damage, potentially reshaping one of the battery materials sector’s most energy-intensive stages.
The technique, published in Science, is being commercialised by Rock Zero, a startup founded out of the research. It relies on a weak acid chemistry rather than the harsh, high-temperature and hazardous processing commonly used for spodumene, the main hard-rock lithium mineral. The process can also recover other saleable outputs, including alumina and silica, which the company says could improve the economics of lithium refining.
At present, much of the world’s lithium still comes either from brine operations or from hard-rock mining. Brine extraction is geographically limited and often requires vast evaporation ponds, while conventional hard-rock processing typically involves crushing and roasting ore at very high temperatures before it is treated with aggressive chemicals. That combination makes the sector both energy-hungry and difficult to decarbonise.
According to MIT, the new method operates at much lower temperatures and uses a liquid reagent to dissolve the mineral feedstock into useful products with minimal waste. The university said the approach could cut the cost of hard-rock lithium extraction by about half, putting it within reach of brine economics in some cases.
The idea emerged from related work at another startup founded by MIT professor Yet-Ming Chiang, Sublime Systems, which was looking for reactive silica for low-carbon cement production. Chiang said the team was prompted by the chemistry of glass-etching products available in hardware and craft stores, which led researchers to test a fluoride-based reagent on silicate minerals. That line of inquiry eventually turned towards spodumene, with guidance from former US energy official Doug Wicks.
A key advantage of the new method is that it avoids the roasting step used in standard processing. Rock Zero says that could reduce energy demand and emissions while also broadening the range of ores that can be treated. The company argues that some ore bodies containing too much iron are difficult to process conventionally because they do not respond properly to the heat-driven phase change required in existing flowsheets.
Benjamin Mowbray, Rock Zero’s chief technology officer and a co-author of the study, said the team has already reduced processing time from several days to less than 12 hours. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the laboratory setup currently handles about 3kg of spodumene concentrate per batch, but the company is now working on scale-up and pilot plant development.
The process also appears to support a circular production model. In addition to lithium carbonate suitable for battery use, it yields aluminium oxide and cementitious silica, while the reagent can be reused. Rock Zero describes the concept as a form of “nose-to-tail” mining, in which the goal is to extract value from every part of the ore rather than discard much of it as tailings.
The company says that, if reagent recycling works as planned at scale, production costs could fall below $6,000 a tonne of lithium. It is also seeking a site for a pilot plant, which it hopes to complete by the end of 2026 and bring into operation in 2027.
Even so, the market backdrop remains challenging. Lithium prices have been highly volatile, surging in 2022 before falling sharply towards the end of 2024 and beginning a gradual recovery in early 2026. That uncertainty can make it hard for new entrants to secure financing, particularly when major producers already dominate the market.
Industry observers also caution that the economics may move quickly against any new process if a wave of competing projects comes onstream as prices rise. Simon Jowitt, chair of mine geology at the University of Nevada, Reno, has warned that the market is still relatively small and vulnerable to swings in supply, while battery makers are also exploring alternatives such as sodium-ion cells that do not require lithium at all.
For industrial decarbonisation, the significance of the MIT work lies not just in the potential cost savings, but in the possibility of a lower-emissions refining route for a material that remains central to electrification. Whether Rock Zero can translate lab-scale chemistry into a commercially robust process will determine if the breakthrough becomes a new standard or remains a promising demonstration.
- https://t3n.de/news/schluss-mit-giftigem-abbau-eine-schwache-saeure-soll-die-lithium-gewinnung-umweltfreundlicher-machen-1744860/ – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://sustainability.mit.edu/article/mit-researchers-develop-low-cost-technique-get-lithium-out-rocks – Researchers at MIT have developed a low-temperature process for extracting battery-grade lithium from hard rock minerals, aiming to make lithium extraction more cost-effective and environmentally friendly. This method uses a liquid reagent to dissolve the rock into useful forms, including lithium salts, alumina, and silica, with minimal waste. The process is estimated to be half the cost of traditional hard rock extraction methods and could be competitive with lithium extraction from brine water. The findings were published in the journal ‘Science’.
- https://www.dongascience.com/en/news/78154 – A U.S. research team has developed an eco-friendly, low-cost method to extract lithium from hard rock. The process reduces lithium production costs by more than 40% compared to existing hard-rock extraction methods and generates virtually no waste. The team has founded a startup to prepare for commercialization. The findings were published in the international journal ‘Science’.
- https://rockzero.com/tech/ – Rock Zero’s technology uses proprietary chemistry to produce lithium chemicals with lower costs, fewer emissions, and less waste than existing hardrock refining processes. The process recycles all process reagents and water and valorizes every element in the rock, producing lithium battery salts, supplementary cementitious materials, and smelter-grade alumina with fewer emissions and zero waste.
- https://www.techradar.com/tech/mit-scientists-make-lithium-ion-breakthrough-that-could-solve-a-global-battery-issue – MIT scientists have developed a groundbreaking new method for extracting lithium from hard rock using a low-cost, eco-friendly process inspired by a bathroom renovation involving glass etching cream. This cream, which dissolves silica, led researchers to create a reusable liquid solution that can efficiently extract lithium from spodumene—a silica-rich, lithium-bearing mineral. Their technique operates at room temperature, cuts costs by around 50%, and repurposes waste into usable materials, representing a significant improvement over traditional methods which require heating rock to over 1,000°C.
- https://denkstrom.org/en/goodnews/mit-halves-cost-of-lithium-extraction-from-rock/ – MIT researchers developed a method to extract lithium from rock at room temperature without high-temperature furnaces or chemical waste. Rock Zero, the startup formed from the research, estimates production costs below $6,000 per ton, half the current price. The method was inspired by a commercially available glass etchant paste from a craft supply store, which dissolves silicon dioxide at low temperature, and spodumene, the world’s most important lithium-bearing mineral, consists largely of silicon dioxide.
- https://battery-tech.net/battery-markets-news/mit-closed-loop-low-temp-hard-rock-lithium-extraction/ – MIT researchers have developed a low-temperature, closed-loop process to extract battery-grade lithium and other valuable materials from hard rock. Traditional hard rock lithium extraction requires heating ore above 1,000°C and discarding large amounts of waste. The new method dissolves spodumene—the most common lithium-bearing mineral—at room temperature using a water–ammonium fluoride solution, liberating lithium, aluminum, and silica without generating a significant waste stream. The process separates the three main elements into market-ready products.
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Score:
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Notes:
The article was published on June 7, 2026, and references a Science publication from May 28, 2026. The content appears fresh and original, with no evidence of prior publication or recycling. The narrative is based on a recent press release from MIT News, which typically warrants a high freshness score. However, the article includes updated data but recycles older material, which raises concerns about originality.
