Cornish Lithium has secured grant funding of £7.2 million ($9.7 million) through the UK Government’s DRIVE35 program to part-fund a £14.5 million program of drilling and testing at its Cross Lanes geothermal lithium project in Baldhu, near Truro, southwest England.

The program will advance the assessment of the technical and economic viability of commercial production at Cross Lanes and enable further appraisal drilling at Baldhu, near Truro.

The UK Government’s DRIVE35 program, delivered by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and Innovate UK, is part of the UK Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, which outlines its commitment to a zero-emission future, with £4 billion of grant funding available to 2035 for automotive research and development (R&D), scale-up and transformation. All UK Government grant funding is subject to His Majesty’s Government’s approval.

Cornish Lithium’s projects are directly aligned with the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy, Growth Sector strategies and the recently published Critical Minerals Strategy, which identifies lithium as essential to the energy transition and sets a domestic lithium production target of 50,000 t/y by 2035.

Successful exploration drilling and testing in 2023 established the presence of lithium-enriched geothermal waters circulating naturally through underlying rock formations at the Cross Lanes site, near Chacewater. In 2025, the company secured planning consent for the development of this site including further phases of testing and evaluation.

The UK Government’s DRIVE35 grant funding, matched pound-for-pound by Cornish Lithium, will enable the company to drill two 2,000 m production wells and operate a direct lithium extraction (DLE) demonstration plant at Cross Lanes as well as drill an appraisal well at the adjacent Baldhu site to confirm the existence of additional lithium resources.

“This grant is further recognition that Cornwall is at the heart of the UK’s clean energy ambitions,” Jamie Airnes, CEO of Cornish Lithium, said. “Our projects have the potential to meet nearly 40% of the government’s domestic lithium production target – delivering a scalable, low-carbon and secure supply of lithium for the UK, right here in Cornwall. That means £3.8 billion contributed to the Cornish economy over the next 25 years and more than 700 well-paid, long-term jobs for the next generation, offering career opportunities that can keep home-grown talent in Cornwall.

“This DRIVE35 funding will allow Cornish Lithium to carry out extended testing over a defined timescale to validate sustainable production conditions and assess water re-injection rates. Once testing is complete, a modular demonstration plant will be installed to evaluate the preferred DLE technology at scale and explore the potential to harness geothermal heat for local homes and businesses.

“Data gathered from the wells will inform the project’s final investment decision and support the company’s wider ambition to develop a network of modular geothermal lithium production facilities across Cornwall.”

The post Cornish Lithium receives government funding to test out Cross Lanes geothermal lithium project thesis appeared first on International Mining.