Scientists search for new ways of separating lithium from sodium to produce high-purity lithium compounds needed to manufacture batteries.
Researchers from the University of Birmingham and Aston University who will lead the search for new programmable proteins
A multidisciplinary consortium led by University of Birmingham researchers has been awarded £6.2 million by the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) to develop a new class of highly selective membranes made using engineered proteins.
The three-year project will initially focus on one of the most difficult challenges in direct lithium extraction: separating lithium from sodium to produce the high-purity lithium compounds required for battery manufacturing.
In the longer term, such proteins could become programmable building blocks for manufacturing materials, with possible applications in critical-mineral recovery, water treatment, chemical manufacturing, and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Researchers from the University of Birmingham and Aston University aim to manufacture large-area membranes containing uniformly sized pores that can distinguish between lithium and sodium ions, despite their similar chemical properties.
We are trying to establish a fundamentally new way of manufacturing functional materials. Separating lithium from sodium will be a demanding first test of this approach. If it works, the approach could also enable more selective and potentially less energy-intensive separations in areas ranging from critical-mineral recovery and water treatment to chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Working with specialist industrial partners, Jude Wells of Fold9 will lead the AI-guided design of the proteins, UK-based Evove will contribute expertise in membrane manufacturing, scale-up and testing and Adaptyv Bio will provide high-throughput protein screening capabilities, allowing the researchers to rapidly test large numbers of protein variants.
The research forms part of ARIA’s Universal Fabricators programme, which aims to use engineered proteins as programmable building blocks for manufacturing materials with exceptional control over their geometry.
Project lead Dr Dominik Kubicki, from the University of Birmingham, said: "Biology can construct ordered materials with precision that is extremely difficult to achieve using existing manufacturing methods. We aim to harness this to create membranes with uniform, programmable pores.
"We are trying to establish a fundamentally new way of manufacturing functional materials. Separating lithium from sodium will be a demanding first test of this approach. If it works, the approach could also enable more selective and potentially less energy-intensive separations in areas ranging from critical-mineral recovery and water treatment to chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing."
The researchers will work with proteins known as S-layer proteins, which naturally assemble into highly ordered two-dimensional lattices on the surfaces of many microorganisms.
Thousands of possible protein variants will be designed and screened before the most promising candidates are produced on a larger scale and incorporated into practical membrane systems.
Project co-lead Professor Tim Knowles, from the University of Birmingham, said: "S-layer proteins offer an extraordinary starting point for materials engineering because they can spontaneously assemble into highly ordered structures. By combining computational design, structural biology, and experimental screening, we aim to re-programme these natural building blocks to perform demanding technological functions."
The project will combine computational protein design, structural biology, and high-throughput screening with protein production, membrane production, and testing under realistic operating conditions.
Advanced characterisation techniques such as cryo-EM and neutron reflectometry will be used to study membrane structure at the nanoscale. These measurements will help the researchers understand how small changes in membrane structure affect selectivity, stability, and transport performance.
Professor Owen Thomas, from the University of Birmingham, said: "A key challenge will be translating molecular-level control into membranes that can be manufactured and operated at useful scales. Close integration of biological design, materials characterisation, and chemical engineering gives us the opportunity to address that challenge from the outset."
The ambition is to demonstrate continuous, robust membranes with precisely controlled pores spanning approximately 1 to 50 ångströms. Although lithium extraction will provide the initial test case, the wider objective is to establish a new manufacturing platform for highly selective separation materials.
The project combines fundamental research with industrial development from its earliest stages. It will also see researchers training across the traditionally separate fields of synthetic biology, structural biology, chemistry, materials science, polymer science, and process engineering.
For more information, please contact the press office at the University of Birmingham or call +44 (0)121 4142772.
About the University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 40,000 students from over 150 countries.
England’s first civic university, the University of Birmingham is proud to be rooted in one of the most dynamic and diverse cities in the country. A member of the Russell Group and a founding member of the Universitas 21 global network of research universities, the University of Birmingham has been changing the way the world works for more than a century.
The project brings together researchers from chemistry, biosciences, structural biology, chemical engineering, and polymer science. It is led by Dr Dominik Kubicki from the University of Birmingham’s School of Chemistry and co-led by Professor Tim Knowles from the School of Biosciences, Professor Stephen Smerdon from the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, Professor Owen Thomas and Professor Tim Overton from the School of Chemical Engineering, and Professor Paul Topham and Dr Matthew Derry from Aston University. Jude Wells leads the computational protein design aspect of the project as an independent partner (FOLD9 Ltd.).
About ARIA
ARIA is an R&D funding agency created to unlock technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. Created by an Act of Parliament and sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, we fund teams of scientists and engineers to pursue research at the edge of what is scientifically and technologically possible.
We’re pursuing ambitious programmes that catalyse scientific progress, and create new communities + industries along the way. We are determining focus areas aimed at unlocking technological capabilities that seem intractable today but could prove critical for the UK in the long-term.
Our programmes reach across disciplines, sectors, and institutions. Science and technology breakthroughs often rely on a mix of academic and industrial capabilities that can be hard to find in a single organisation. We bring together scientists and engineers with diverse fields of expertise, to break down silos and discover new pathways.
We are activating the UK’s world class research community to act as a force multiplier of ARIA’s investments. The UK has a rich history of and deep commitment to scientific innovation, with a strong pool of talent and leading research universities. We want to play a catalytic role within the ecosystem, complementing and supporting others in pursuit of new breakthroughs.
Reader in Structural Biology
Dr Knowles is a structural biologist with a strong track record in membrane protein research.
Associate Professor in Materials Characterisation
Profile of Dr Dominik J Kubicki, University of Birmingham
Professor of Biochemical Engineering
Staff profile for Professor Owen Thomas, University of Birmingham
