Lithium (Li) demand is expected to increase significantly over the next decade, due to its use in batteries for electric vehicles and stationary power storage. Global supplies of lithium are currently dominated by salt-lake brines (salars) in the ‘Lithium Triangle’ of South America, and Li-pegmatites, chiefly mined in Australia. Additional geological resources include Li-clays, Li-rich borates, and Li-micas in granites. There is still much to learn about how lithium is mobilised, transported and concentrated in the Earth’s crust (the lithium cycle). The LiFT project will investigate all aspects of this lithium cycle, and develop a new quantitative understanding of the processes linking all the deposit types that will underpin the search for new, sustainable Li resources. The LiFT consortium includes researchers from the British Geological Survey, the Natural History Museum, and the universities of Edinburgh, Exeter, and Southampton, together with an international group of project partners.