Karlsruhe, May 27th 2025. Vulcan Energy is pleased to announce that Vercana, its 100%-owned drilling subsidiary, commenced drilling the first new well for the Phase One Lionheart Project at the Schleidberg site near Landau, Germany. This marks the start of the first phase of the “Lionheart” project, part of Vulcan’s combined project to produce climate-neutral lithium and renewable heat and energy from deep geothermal energy in the Upper Rhine Graben. The first phase of the project involves the construction of five new drilling sites with up to 24 additional production and reinjection wells. In combination with the four existing wells at the company’s two geothermal plants in Landau and Insheim, this will create larger, integrated renewable energy and sustainable lithium project. The goal of the first phase of the Lionheart project is to produce 24,000 tons of lithium hydroxide monohydrate per year for the European automotive and battery industries and to provide climate-neutral heat for the region. With the first new well, Vulcan is taking a decisive step toward increasing geothermal heat and energy production, while also laying the foundation for future commercial lithium production.

Marco Köpsel, Managing Director of drilling company Vercana, says: “With the successful commissioning of the V20 electric drilling rig and the start of drilling operations, we have taken an important step closer to our goal of future lithium production and the utilization of deep geothermal energy. The crew on site is very proud of this contribution to the region.“

Thorsten Weimann, Managing Director of Vulcan Energie Ressourcen GmbH, says: ”With the new well, Vulcan is expanding its geothermal capacity and thus the possibility of supplying heat to the city of Landau and the region. Our team has carried out all the preparatory work with great care, obtained the necessary permits from the authorities, and successfully completed all safety tests. The local population and interest groups were involved in the entire project development at an early stage, and the feedback received was consistently positive. This development brings us a significant step closer to our goal: a reliable, base-load-capable supply of renewable heat and the establishment of a sustainable, European lithium value chain for the production of batteries for electric vehicles.”