Tag Archives: Innovate UK

Watercycle Technologies to test direct lithium extraction solution at Cornish Lithium ops

Energy minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining finance, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Water management, , , , ,

UK-based Watercycle Technologies Ltd, a critical minerals and water filtration specialist, has been granted a £500,000 ($572,428) Innovate UK Smart Grant, in partnership with Cornish Lithium Ltd, to test its direct lithium extraction (‘DLE’) process in Cornwall, England.

Watercycle says its patented filtration process can selectively extract lithium from sub-surface waters, such as those found in the Southwest of the UK.

Given lithium’s essential role in battery technologies, the ability to obtain it from waters cost effectively and establish a domestic supply of the mineral is vital for the UK’s net-zero strategy, it says.

Under the terms of the agreement, Watercycle will deliver a containerised filtration system to extract lithium from Cornish Lithium’s project in Cornwall at a pilot scale. The project, which includes an environmental impact assessment, is anticipated to complete in October 2023.

Watercycle was spun out from the University of Manchester and is backed by business accelerator Aer Ventures. Smart, meanwhile, is Innovate UK’s responsive grant funding program.

Watercycle CEO, Dr Seb Leaper, said: “Having already proven that our proprietary filtration membranes and systems work in lab conditions, we are excited to be working with Cornish Lithium to demonstrate their scalability and accelerate the creation of a resilient, domestic lithium supply chain in the UK. This agreement marks the next step in our development strategy as we look at the commercialisation of our technology, which is capable of treating a wide range of water types and can deliver dramatic reductions in costs, carbon emissions and water consumption compared with current processes.”

Watercycle co-Founder and CTO, Dr Ahmed Abdelkarim, added: “It is great to be working with like-minded partners, Cornish Lithium and Innovate UK, which, like us, are focused on making a positive impact on the global transition through advancing innovative technologies.”

Lead Geochemist at Cornish Lithium, Dr Rebecca Paisley, said: “Working with Watercycle in the development of a pilot system aligns strongly with our research and innovation strategy, as well as our continued efforts to trial multiple DLE technologies at pilot scale in Cornwall to establish the most effective and responsible process flowsheet. We have a good relationship with the Watercycle team and look forward to progressing the project over the next 12 months.”

Oxbotica and TRL draft off-highway automation Code of Practice

Automation, IoT, Mining policy, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , , , , ,

Oxbotica and TRL have piloted the use of what they say is the first Code of Practice for the safe and cost-effective deployment of autonomous vehicles in unstructured off-highway environments, such as mines, with a live trial conducted in a quarry using a number of off-road vehicles.

The Innovate UK-funded consortium has developed and demonstrated capabilities to adapt and retrofit autonomy, using robust low-cost sensors, to any vehicle, as well as drafting a Code of Practice that identifies the key elements for safe and efficient deployment of autonomous vehicles in off-road industries, the companies say.

Off-road environments feature more varied hazards and less structured scenarios than on-road settings with no universal highway rules, such as speed limits or junction etiquette. A Code of Practice helps standardise across industries and allows learnings from each domain to be shared, Oxbotica and TRL say.

“Off-road vehicles also have to interact with a wide variety of unpredictable objects in their environment, either because they block the vehicle’s path, such as undergrowth or tree branches, or because engaging with them is part of the vehicle’s primary function, such as harvesting or excavating,” they added.

With autonomous vehicles commonplace in many industries such as mining, working to deliver safety, efficiency and productivity, the Code of Practice will help organisations transition to new working practices and harness the potential benefits with no impact on safety, according to the firms.

To demonstrate the Code Of Practice and highlight its potential to work across a range of vehicles and industries, Oxbotica and TRL deployed a Ford Ranger and Range Rover Evoque, retrofitted with Oxbotica’s world-leading autonomy software platform, in a UK quarry in April 2021. The vehicles were fitted with a full suite of sensors, including LiDAR, Radar, and stereo cameras.

Oxbotica’s technology has already operated in a range of environments without road markings across Europe, Asia and America. Its software seamlessly transitions between sensors to operate across multiple domains and environments, according to the company.

“The software is capable of using sensors independently or fused in any combination, meaning vehicles can drive with or without maps, depending what is available at any given time,” Oxbotica added.

Ben Upcroft, VP of Technology at Oxbotica, said: “Our autonomy software platform is capable of being integrated with any vehicle, in any environment. In order to harness the true power of this technology, operational regulations need to be developed in unison to ensure safe and efficient deployment. Consortiums such as this are a key stepping stone in ensuring the safe operation of autonomous vehicles in complex scenarios, and enabling the scale up to full commercial deployment in industry settings.”

Dr Ianto Guy, Project Lead at TRL, said: “This Code of Practice seeks to provide high-level guidance to organisations, in all sectors of the off-highway industry, on the ways in which working practices should be adapted to ensure that the adoption of autonomy is as smooth and safe as possible. The aim is that this code will support safe practice, build public confidence, and encourage the cooperation between organisations across all industries employing off-highway autonomous vehicles.

“It is hoped that off-highway industries will use this code of practice as a starting point for discussion and build on the recommendations made here to develop comprehensive best practice guidelines.”