A Lithium-ion battery photographed at a Volkswagen facility in Germany. The EU is seeking to increase the number of electrical vehicles on its roads in the approaching years.
Ronny Hartmann | AFP | Getty Images
Paris-headquartered minerals giant Imerys plans to develop a lithium extraction project that it’s hoped will help meet demand and secure supply for Europe’s emerging electric vehicle market.
In a press release Monday, Imerys said its Emili Project could be positioned at a site in the middle of France, with the corporate targeting 34,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide production annually from 2028.
In accordance with the business, this level of production could be enough to “equip roughly 700,000 electrical vehicles per yr.”
Alongside its use in cell phones, computers, tablets and a number of other gadgets synonymous with modern life, lithium — which some have dubbed “white gold” — is crucial to the batteries that power electric vehicles.
The project being planned by Imerys is taking shape at a time when major economies just like the EU need to ramp up the number of electrical vehicles on their roads.
The EU plans to stop the sale of latest diesel and gasoline cars and vans from 2035. The U.K., which left the EU on Jan. 31, 2020, is pursuing similar targets.
With demand for lithium rising, the European Union — of which France is a member — is attempting to shore up its own supplies and reduce dependency on other parts of the world.
In a translation of her State of the Union speech last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “lithium and rare earths will soon be more vital than oil and gas.”
In addition to addressing security of supply, von der Leyen, who switched between several languages during her speech, also stressed the importance of processing.
“Today, China controls the worldwide processing industry,” she said. “Almost 90% … of rare earth[s] and 60% of lithium are processed in China.”
“So we are going to discover strategic projects all along the availability chain, from extracting to refining, from processing to recycling,” she added. “And we are going to construct up strategic reserves where supply is in danger.”
Back in France, Imerys said it was finalizing what it described as a “technical scoping study” in an effort to “explore various operational options and refine geological and industrial features regarding the lithium extraction and processing method.”
The location chosen for the project has, for the reason that end of the 19th century, been used to supply a style of clay called kaolin to be used within the ceramics industry.
The development capital expenditure of the proposed lithium project is estimated to be around 1 billion euros (roughly $980 million), Imerys added.
“Upon successful completion, the project would contribute to the French and European Union’s energy transition ambitions,” the corporate said. “It will also increase Europe’s industrial sovereignty at a time when automotive and battery manufacturers are heavily depending on imported lithium, which is a key element within the energy transition.”
In recent times, a spread of things has created pressure points in terms of the availability of the materials crucial for EVs, a problem the International Energy Agency highlighted earlier this yr in its Global EV Outlook.
“The rapid increase in EV sales throughout the pandemic has tested the resilience of battery supply chains, and Russia’s war in Ukraine has further exacerbated the challenge,” the IEA’s report noted, adding that prices of materials like lithium, cobalt and nickel have soared.
“In May 2022, lithium prices were over seven times higher than in the beginning of 2021,” it added. “Unprecedented battery demand and a scarcity of structural investment in latest supply capability are key aspects.”
In a recent interview with CNBC, the CEO of Mercedes-Benz sketched out the present state of play, as he saw it when it got here to the raw materials required for EVs and their batteries.
“Raw material prices have been quite volatile within the last 12 to 18 months — some have spiked and truly some have come back down again,” Ola Kallenius said.
“However it is true as we turn out to be electric, all-electric and an increasing number of automakers go into the electrical space, there’s a necessity to extend mining capacities and refining capacities for lithium, nickel, and a few of those raw materials which are needed to supply electric cars.”
“We now have all the pieces that we want now, but we want to look into the mid to long-term and work with the mining industry here to extend capacities.”
