Satellites will begin searching for lithium in Cornwall amid growing demand for batteries

Satellites will soon be scanning the west country for mineral deposits as the hunt for lithium steps up a gear.

After securing £850,000 of funding from the government agency Innovate UK, Satellite Applications Catapult is leading a study together with miner Cornish Lithium to discover whether the mineral, which is a critical component of batteries, can be detected from space.

Demand for lithium is expected to grow rapidly in the next few decades as electric cars become more mainstream and energy storage becomes a crucial way to balance the supply and demand of electricity.

“Lithium has significant strategic importance to the UK economy and we hope that the funding will accelerate understanding of the potential to extract lithium in Cornwall,” said Jeremy Wrathall, founder and chief executive of Cornish Lithium.

“We believe that techniques developed from this study will prove of great interest to the mining industry globally given the growing importance of Earth Observation techniques as an unobtrusive exploration tool worldwide,” he said.

It is hoped the study will make clear which areas should be prioritised for exploration by evaluating the area’s geology and vegetation.

“Initial investigations show promising outcomes and the team is currently working on their validation,” said Cristian Rossi, Earth Observation specialist at Satellite Applications Catapult.

Read more: Bacanora Minerals’ huge lithium mine has been valued at $1.25bn