Stellantis bolsters electric future with $100M investment in CTR

Leading multinational automaker Stellantis N.V. has announced an investment of more than $100 million in battery-grade lithium producer, Controlled Thermal Resources Holdings (CTR) to advance development of geothermal lithium project in California and back decarbonization of its battery electric vehicle supply chains.

The latest investments will be utilized to develop CTR's Hell Kitchen Project – said to be the largest geothermal lithium project -- with total resource capacity to produce 300,000 metric tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent each year. This lithium produced will support Stellantis vehicles' BEV eligibility for consumer incentives under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

As part of the plan, CTR's Hell's Kitchen project will recover lithium from geothermal brines using renewable energy and steam to produce battery-grade lithium products in a fully integrated process, thereby eliminating the need for evaporation brine ponds, open pit mines and fossil-fueled lithium processing.

"The foundation of our industry-leading decarbonization drive includes low-emissions production and sustainable supply as the building blocks for our electric vehicles," said Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis. "The latest agreement with CTR is an important step in our care for our customers and our planet as we work to provide clean, safe and affordable mobility in North America."

CTR will supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate to Stellantis starting 2027.

Additionally, the two companies have also agreed to expand the initial supply agreement signed earlier in June, as per which CTR will now increase its supply from the initial plan of 25,000 metric tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) to up to 65,000 metric tons of battery-grade LHM each year over a 10-year contract term.