Batteries: Lithium is the oil of the future
BACKGROUND General Motors is investing $650 million in a Lithium Americas project. This could be the prelude to a series of direct investments by the auto industry in the lithium sector.
In Norway, eight out of ten new car buyers already opt for a model with an electric drive. No more vehicles with combustion engines are to be registered there as early as 2025. But there is also a lot happening in the major markets at the moment. The year started with a number of deals that are causing a stir.
For example, Korean battery giant Samsung SDI has signed an agreement with Posco to supply cathode material worth $33 billion. In China, the focus is increasingly on the recycling of electric car batteries. For example, global market leader CATL has just committed to investing $3.5 billion in a battery recycling plant in the south of the country.
Material for one million batteries
General Motors, however, caused a sensation in the orchestra of raw material suppliers. The tradition-rich company from Detroit wants to invest 650 million US dollars in Lithium Americas. In this way, GM secures parts of the production at the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada. Thacker Pass is considered the largest lithium deposit in the USA and the third largest in the world. Under the agreement, GM is investing directly in the company and securing material for one million electric car batteries. However, it will still be some time before production starts at Thacker Pass; Lithium Americas plans to start production in the second half of 2026.
More car companies to follow
GM's direct investment in a lithium mine operator could be followed by other car companies. Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes Benz, for example, said that until a year ago it would have been virtually unthinkable for Mercedes to take a direct stake in a raw material supplier. But today the company is further ahead and does not want to rule it out, because lithium is the new oil, the Mercedes boss believes.
Well-developed lithium projects that have a chance to start production are still few in the world. One of them is Arcadia Minerals' Bitterwater project in Namibia. The Australian company is making rapid progress in developing the lithium deposit.
