The small Alsatian village of Schwabwiller now hosts a project that could reshape how France heats homes and powers electric cars, bringing lithium production and green heat to the same plot of land.
France bets on home-grown lithium in Alsace
Since 24 November 2025, French company Lithium de France, backed by Arverne Group, has started its first geothermal drilling campaign in Schwabwiller, in northern Alsace. The operation aims to tap very hot underground water while extracting lithium, a metal currently dominated by suppliers in Australia, South America and China.
The project follows several years of groundwork: detailed geological surveys, 3D imaging of the subsurface, temperature gradient measurements, environmental studies and public meetings with residents. An environmental permit was granted in May 2025 after a public inquiry held late in 2024.
France is testing a model where one industrial site could both heat local buildings and supply lithium for electric-vehicle batteries.
For the government in Paris and for Brussels, the stakes extend far beyond this one village. Europe faces a sharp rise in demand for lithium as it phases out petrol and diesel cars, yet refines very little of the metal itself. Local production, even on a modest scale, would chip away at this dependency.
A double, even triple objective for the project
Lithium de France sets out three connected goals in Schwabwiller:
- Provide low-carbon, local heat to towns, farms and factories through geothermal energy.
- Produce “geothermal lithium” from naturally lithium-rich brines circulating deep underground.
- Boost the northern Alsace economy with an industrial hub that could create close to 200 direct jobs.
The idea is simple to describe, complex to execute: hot, mineral-rich water is pumped from depth, its heat is used to supply a district heating network, and the lithium is then separated from the brine before the cooled water is reinjected underground.
Supporters present the scheme as a rare combo: clean heat, strategic metals and local jobs, all drawn from the same resource.
From permits to a 30-metre drill rig
An Alsatian story years in the making
The current drilling phase is just the most visible step. In 2022, Lithium de France obtained two key permits in northern Alsace: one for geothermal energy and a second specifically for geothermal lithium production. Between 2022 and 2023, the company ran exploration campaigns that confirmed promising hot-water reservoirs linked to the Rhine Graben, a long-standing geological rift.
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Once regulators approved the environmental aspects in mid-2025, work on the surface site began: earthworks, access roads, utility connections and concrete pads for the future drilling rig. On 24 November 2025, the rig arrived on site, rising several dozen metres above the flat surrounding landscape.
What the drill is actually looking for
The project uses a so‑called “doublet” system: two separate wells, spaced a few dozen metres apart at the surface, each drilled to around 2,400 metres.
- One “producer” well will bring up hot, pressurised brine.
- The other “injector” well will send the cooled water back underground.
This first phase of drilling has three main technical targets:
- Measure water temperature at depth to see if it is hot enough to feed local heating networks.
- Assess flow rate to confirm that a stable, long-term supply is possible.
- Determine lithium concentration in the brine and judge if commercial extraction makes sense.
If these parameters look right, the Schwabwiller doublet is set to become an industrial pilot, demonstrating that geothermal heat and lithium production can run side by side.
Why Alsace, and why now?
Northern Alsace sits above the Rhine Graben, where the Earth’s crust has thinned and fractured. This configuration creates reservoirs of hot water several kilometres beneath the surface. In some areas, these waters carry dissolved metals, including lithium.
Scientific studies suggest that certain deep waters in the region may hold up to around 200 milligrams of lithium per litre, a relatively high grade for geothermal brines.
| Parameter | Alsace geothermal brine (indicative) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Depth | ~2,000–3,000 m | Geothermal heat, minerals |
| Temperature | Often above 150°C | District heating, industrial heat |
| Lithium content | Up to ~200 mg/L in some zones | Battery-grade lithium production |
Arverne Group has floated a long-term goal of producing up to 27,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) from this type of resource. On their estimates, that could cover roughly one third of France’s lithium needs when its domestic battery plants, the emerging “gigafactories”, reach full capacity.
Climate promises and industrial ambitions
CO₂ cuts compared with gas and traditional mining
Company projections suggest that a successful geothermal network in Schwabwiller could cut heating-related CO₂ emissions by as much as 90% compared with natural-gas boilers, depending on the final design of the system.
On the lithium side, extracting the metal from geothermal brines tends to use less land and cause fewer direct emissions than open-pit mining and evaporation ponds. Lithium de France speaks of roughly 70% lower CO₂ emissions per tonne of lithium compared with conventional supply chains, although exact figures depend on the final process and electricity mix.
Geothermal lithium would not make France self-sufficient, but it could give the country a strategic foothold in a market it currently mostly imports.
Electric vehicles and Europe’s supply anxiety
France plans to phase out sales of new combustion-engine cars within the next decade, in line with broader EU rules. That means a surge in battery demand and, with it, in lithium imports unless new local sources appear.
By tying lithium extraction to a renewable heat project, Schwabwiller offers a template that could appeal to policymakers seeking low-impact ways to secure critical minerals. If replicated in other suitable regions, geothermal lithium plants could become a small but notable contribution to Europe’s battery supply chain.
Unanswered questions: geology, money and local trust
The drilling underway in Alsace does not guarantee success. Several uncertainties remain:
- The reservoir may not deliver enough flow to justify a long-lived heat network.
- Lithium concentrations could end up lower than predicted by early studies.
- New extraction technologies must prove they can produce battery-grade lithium reliably and at a competitive cost.
Geothermal projects in Europe have also faced opposition from residents worried about seismic risk, noise, truck traffic and visual impact. While Schwabwiller’s scheme has passed an environmental review, some local groups still question whether they will see concrete benefits such as cheaper heat or job opportunities.
On the economic side, investors will watch several factors: the pace of electric-vehicle adoption, battery recycling rates, future EU regulations on “green” lithium, and competition from other unconventional sources such as geothermal projects in Germany, the UK and the United States.
How geothermal lithium extraction actually works
For readers unfamiliar with the concept, geothermal lithium extraction combines elements of both power engineering and chemical processing:
- Hot brine is pumped up from deep wells.
- A heat exchanger transfers its thermal energy to a water circuit for district heating or industrial processes.
- The brine then passes through a treatment unit where lithium ions are captured, often using adsorption materials or ion-exchange resins.
- After treatment, the cooled brine goes back underground through the injection well.
This closed-loop approach limits surface contamination and water consumption, since the same fluid circulates continuously. The main technical challenge lies in stripping lithium efficiently from a complex, often corrosive mix of salts while keeping equipment reliable and costs under control.
Risks, trade-offs and what could come next
Even if Schwabwiller hits its targets, geothermal lithium is not a silver bullet. The resource is geographically limited, and deep drilling remains expensive. A project can run into trouble if costs overrun, if maintenance proves harder than expected, or if market prices fall due to new supply from elsewhere.
Yet this type of initiative fits into a broader shift in how countries think about energy and materials. Instead of importing raw minerals, shipping them around the globe and burning fossil fuels for heat, projects like Lithium de France’s attempt to stack several services on one site: clean heat, critical raw materials and local employment.
If the pilot succeeds, engineers and policymakers can use its data to model different scenarios: for instance, how many similar installations would be needed to cover half of France’s projected lithium demand; or how a cluster of geothermal heat networks could reduce dependence on gas during winter peaks.
For residents of Schwabwiller, the benefits will be judged in very practical terms – the reliability of the heat network, the level of noise and traffic, and whether local people end up working on site. For France and Europe, though, this quiet village has suddenly become a test case for a new way of producing one of the 21st century’s most sought-after metals.