OSAKA -- Panasonic has joined a project led by U.S. oil services leader Schlumberger that seeks to extract lithium from underground salt water in a fraction of the time, reducing the process from over a year to a matter of weeks.
Schlumberger has started a pilot plant to extract lithium from underground salt water in the U.S. state of Nevada, with Panasonic testing samples of the extracted lithium to determine if it is suitable for electric vehicle batteries. The Japanese company will also provide consultation on points for improvement.
