Electrification is rewriting the playbook for mine developers and how fast they must deliver it. Lithium sits at the centre of this shift - powering EVs, enabling long-duration grid storage, data centres, and anchoring advanced manufacturing. Yet the journey from resource to battery-grade product is complex. It demands rigorous test work, disciplined scaleup and delivery logic from day one.
Policy momentum is intensifying this pressure. In 2025, policymakers have doubled down on this need for certainty: the EU has designated 47 Strategic Projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act, with streamlined permitting (≤27 months for extraction; ≤15 months for processing/ recycling) and enhanced access to finance to accelerate domestic extraction, processing and recycling. In parallel, the United States-Australia Critical Minerals Framework commits both countries to coordinated investment and faster permitting to secure resilient, allied supply chains. The message is clear, projects that build certainty early will move first and move confidently.
For lithium developers, the early stages are where certainty is either built or lost. Against this backdrop, the decisions developers make in the early stages will determine downstream performance, cost certainty and market readiness. Missed details in early test work or process design can cascade into redesigns, delays and Capex/ Opex blowouts. The remedy is disciplined, frontloaded technical work paired with delivery expertise that turns bench-scale data into bankable estimates and executable schedules, which turns data into decisions.
What “good early-stage” work looks like
Not all data is equal. Design test work to move decisions - not just generate data. Early test programs must focus on the questions that materially affect flowsheet selection, equipment sizing, impurity control and operability. That means:
- Representativity & variability: sampling and methods aligned to geological domains and operational reality.
- Deleterious elements: quantify impurity impacts (e.g. silicon, magnesium, or iron in lithium ores/ brines) at each stage; engineer targeted unit operations to control them.
- Scaleup logic: create line of sight from bench and pilot to commercial - including risks, contingencies and control philosophies to protect product specs (chemical or battery-grade).
Pilot programs that do more than prove recovery: Pilots are often treated as demonstrations. Modular, skid mounted units generate credible scaleup data, and stress test operability (controls, materials selection, maintenance). When executed well, pilots de-risk ramp up and underpin bankable study deliverables.
Partnering for technology integration: Most lithium projects require thoughtful integration of third-party technology packages. Use test-work to evaluate and select technologies that support the specific ore/ brine characteristics, and then working closely with selected technology providers to integrate their processes into the overall flowsheet is critical to success.
Integrate delivery-thinking early. Fold construction methodology, logistics, and commissioning logic into cost models from the outset. When early estimates incorporate on-the-ground reality, they stand up to investor and board scrutiny.
Case study: Vulcan Energy’s Lionheart Project-data to delivery
Scale and significance. Phase One is designed for 24,000 tpa lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) - enough for ~500,000 EVs annually-with cogeneration of renewable heat and power. The project has been recognised as an EU Strategic Project under the CRMA.
Pilot phase (Germany). To validate Vulcan’s geothermal brine route to battery-grade lithium, Sedgman engineered and supplied skid mounted lithium chloride and lithium hydroxide crystalliser units-including a fully integrated evaporator crystalliser skid with electrical and control panels programmed and tested for rapid deployment. Additional crystallisers, centrifuges and dryers were delivered to produce market grade LiOH, creating a modular platform that produced decision grade data for scaleup.
From pilot to EPCM. In December 2025, Vulcan appointed a Sedgman-HOCHTIEF (SHJV) joint venture as EPCM contractor for Phase One, covering both the Lithium Extraction Plant (LEP) at Landau (Rhineland-Palatinate) and the Central Lithium Plant (CLP) at Industrial Park Höchst (Hesse). The scope spans full project management, detailed engineering and design, procurement, construction management, quality and materials management, and commissioning support.
Why it works. Early, integrated engagement from pilot equipment through EPCM, converted test work insights into flowsheet optimisation, credible estimates and executable schedules. The same team that understood impurity pathways and unit operations in the pilot phase is now aligning detailed engineering, procurement and commissioning plans to those learnings. The team are also integrating key supplier technology packages to ensure an integrated delivery is achieved. That continuity is the bankability multiplier.
Pragmatic pathways for hard rock and brine lithium
Early stage hard-rock lithium projects benefit from transferable process knowhow across commodities - comminution selection and modelling, dense media separation (DMS), gravity circuits, and downstream hydrometallurgy (calcination, acid roast, leaching, solvent extraction, precipitation/ crystallisation). Leveraging this foundation helps reduce variability, protect recovery (e.g. overgrinding risk in spodumene), and tighten particle size control and classification - while ensuring materials selection and maintainability suit corrosive media and elevated temperatures.
For brine lithium, integrating evaporation/ crystallisation expertise early is decisive, impurity management and scaleup pathways depend on well-designed campaigns and robust lab capability. Sedgman’s in-house brine laboratory in Montreal provides continuity from bench work through scale-up, ensuring that early decisions are grounded in real, high-quality data.
Why engage Sedgman early
Developers consistently tell us they want two things: technical and delivery certainty. Sedgman brings both:
- Technical depth, proven at scale. More than two decades in lithium, 60+ hard rock and brine contracts delivered globally, and our specialists supported the world’s first dedicated chemical grade SC6.0 concentrator. Our experts design test work and pilot plants to evaluate alternative flowsheets or technologies to choose the best route before major spending.
- Global reach. In the last 18 months, we have undertaken lithium contracts for due diligence, concept study, feasibility studies, commissioning and engineering services, and FEED work for more than 10 clients across the globe, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Portugal and Brazil.
- Delivery authority. For 45 years we have designed, built and supported operations of mineral processing facilities - so Capex/ Opex estimates reflect real constructability, operability and ramp up logic, not theoretical assumptions. The team uses database-driven intelligence from decades of projects to produce bankable feasibility studies and accurate capital/ operating cost estimates, even at early study phases - giving developers confidence.
- Integration expertise. We evaluate emerging technologies (DLE, advanced evaporators/ crystallisers, lower energy calciners, water treatment) at the right stage, grounded in test work, operability and maintainability - to meet rising environmental expectations without sacrificing cost discipline.
Set your project up for success. If you want your lithium (and broader critical minerals) project to move fast and derisked, engage Sedgman at inception. We’ll align metallurgical test work and pilot design with flowsheet decisions, connect estimates to executable delivery, and carry continuity from concept through commissioning end-to-end, local delivery with global expertise.