Vulcan Energy Pours Concrete at Landau as Lionheart Moves From Paper to Pavement
Published on 07/29/2026 at 16:42 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The first integrated geothermal-lithium project in Europe has crossed a critical threshold. Vulcan Energy has broken ground on the civil construction of its 30-megawatt Lionheart geothermal power plant in Landau, Rhineland-Palatinate, shifting the venture from the planning stage into the physical build-out on a ten-hectare site in the Messegelände Südost industrial park.
The milestone marks the point at which blueprints become foundations. Crews are now laying concrete for the power plant buildings, installing road infrastructure and preparing the site for the delivery of process equipment. CEO Cris Moreno confirmed the project remains on schedule and within budget, describing the transition from preparatory earthworks to civil construction as a significant step for the geothermal facility that sits at the heart of the broader Lionheart scheme.
That scheme is ambitious by any measure. Phase 1 targets annual output of 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate — enough to supply roughly 500,000 electric-vehicle batteries — alongside 275 gigawatt-hours of electricity and 560 gigawatt-hours of heat. The plant is designed for a 30-year operational life, with surplus heat sold to local off-takers. Moreno stressed that the co-location of lithium extraction and baseload renewable generation creates a cost advantage, insulating production from volatile energy prices.
The financial architecture underpinning the project was assembled in May, when Vulcan closed a €2.2 billion funding package. A consortium comprising HOCHTIEF, Siemens Financial Services and Demeter contributed €133 million for a 15 percent equity stake. The European Investment Bank chipped in €250 million, KfW added €150 million via the Deutschlandfonds, and a further €104 million came from the Li4BAT programme. Commercial production is pencilled in for 2028.
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For European raw-materials policy, Lionheart carries weight beyond its balance sheet. The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act aims to source roughly ten percent of the bloc’s critical mineral needs from domestic production by 2030, and the Upper Rhine Graben project is held up as a flagship for reducing dependence on imported lithium.
Yet the market remains unmoved. Vulcan’s shares closed at €1.61 on Tuesday, barely above the 52-week low of €1.55 touched the previous day. The stock has shed 36.72 percent since the start of the year and sits 59.44 percent below the October 2025 high of €3.98. Wednesday saw a marginal 0.37 percent uptick to €1.62, but the gap to the year’s trough stands at just 4.31 percent.
The technical picture offers little comfort. The 14-day relative strength index of 30.9 hovers near oversold territory, while annualised 30-day volatility of 36.36 percent underscores the turbulence typical of a capital-intensive construction phase.
That disconnect between operational progress and equity valuation reflects a market waiting for proof. The direct lithium extraction technology Vulcan is deploying has yet to demonstrate industrial-scale viability, and until it does, investor scepticism is likely to persist. The 2028 production target remains the defining date — the moment when the €2.2 billion bet placed by project financiers either pays off or falls short.
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In a separate administrative move, 134,225 VULAC performance rights lapsed on 28 July 2026 after failing to meet vesting conditions, leaving 3,028,139 outstanding non-listed performance rights. The change marginally reduces the dilution risk from incentive instruments without affecting existing shareholders.
The next visible milestone will be the erection of the plant buildings and the assembly of process equipment, with civil work on the lithium extraction facility itself scheduled to begin later this year. Drilling for new geothermal wells is already underway, and a second drilling site is expected to be operational in the second half of 2026. Management has pledged to keep the market updated as construction progresses, but for now, the share price suggests that concrete alone will not be enough to shift sentiment.
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