Stellantis NV has secured the necessary lithium for tram production in North America from a project in California, as automakers worldwide scramble to secure supplies the battery Metal key to the electric vehicle revolution.
Controlled Thermal Resources Limited (CTR) will provide owners of Jeep car and Peugeot Stellantis said on Thursday with 25,000 tons of lithium hydroxide per year for the 10-year term of the agreement.
CTR, which operates in California’s Salton Sea, is also developing a geothermal lithium brine project to meet General Motors Co’s lithium demand.
Lithium demand has grown slowly as automakers ramp up production of electric vehicles using lithium-ion batteries, causing a global shortage of the metal.
Stellantis, established in 2021 through a merger between the French PSA and the Fiat Chrysler (FCA), said in March it will have 75 battery electric vehicle (EV) models on the market and sell 5 million EVs a year by 2030.
The company also said it expects an EV battery shortage to hit the auto industry by 2024-2025 as manufacturers try to boost EV sales while building factories. manufacture new batteries.
“Ensuring we have a strong, competitive and low-carbon lithium supply from different partners around the world will allow us to meet our production plans,” said CEO Carlos Tavares. your active electric vehicle responsibly”.
CTR will produce lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate batteries along with geothermal energy in Imperial County, California, with resource production capacity in excess of 300,000 tons per year.
