Turboden S.p.A., a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group company, in collaboration with ROM Technik, has announced the award of a major Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract from Vulcan Energy for the construction of a 32 MWe geothermal power plant near Landau, Germany.
The project marks a significant milestone in Phase One of Vulcan’s “Lionheart Project,” one of Europe’s flagship initiatives for critical raw materials and renewable energy. The geothermal power plant will play a central role in decarbonizing lithium production for batteries by supplying renewable electricity directly from a geothermal resource. Through its integrated geothermal-lithium extraction process, Vulcan is pioneering a zero-carbon battery materials supply chain for Europe’s electric vehicle industry.
“We believed in Vulcan and their technology from the very beginning,” said Paolo Bertuzzi, CEO and Managing Director of Turboden. “We’ve been working with them for years to integrate our ORC technology into their innovative lithium extraction process. Our ORC system will generate clean power while cooling the geothermal water to the optimal temperature for lithium extraction—a resource that has been naturally dissolved in the brine for millennia.”
The renewable power will be produced using Turboden’s advanced ORC technology, which converts geothermal heat from the same brine deposits used for lithium extraction. This integrated closed-loop system ensures zero-emission electricity generation as a by-product of lithium extraction at Vulcan’s geothermal and lithium production facility.
The Lionheart Project is located in the Upper Rhine Valley brine field, along the German-French border—home to Europe’s largest lithium reserves. The project has received support at the EU level as well as land acquisition approval from the Landau City Council, marking key steps toward large-scale construction.
Cris Moreno, Managing Director and CEO of Vulcan Energy, stated: “The geothermal power plant is a key component of our first operational phase. Awarding EPC services to both Turboden and ROM Technik—leaders in their respective fields—will ensure efficient delivery of the geothermal facility. We have full confidence in their expertise, having successfully executed similar projects across Germany and worldwide. This represents another step forward toward our goal of providing a local, low-cost, and sustainable source of lithium for the European battery supply chain, alongside a renewable energy co-product. We look forward to working with both partners to contribute to Landau’s zero-carbon energy future.”
