Leading automaker and mobility provider, Stellantis N.V. (Stellantis) has secured a deal with lithium supplier, Controlled Thermal Resources Ltd (CTR) to supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide for use in Stellantis' electric vehicles in North America.
CTR's project in the Imperial Country, California will recover lithium from geothermal brines utilizing renewable energy and steam to produce battery-grade lithium products in an integrated, closed-loop process, devoid of the evaporation process of brine ponds, open pits mines, and fossil-fuel processing – ensuring a decarbonized supply of key raw material for Stellantis EVs.
"In the fight against global warming, bolstering our battery electric vehicle supply chain to support our bold electrification ambitions is absolutely critical," said Carlos Tavares, CEO, Stellantis.
"Ensuring we have a robust, competitive, and low-carbon lithium supply from various partners around the world will enable us to meet our aggressive electric vehicle production plans in a responsible manner."
According to the agreement between the two entities, CTR will supply up to 25,000 metric tons per year of lithium hydroxide over the 10-year term of the agreement.
CTR will produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate along with geothermal energy in California with a resource production capacity in excess of 300,000 metric tons per year, Stellantis stated in its official release.
"This definitive offtake agreement with Stellantis sets a new benchmark for the automotive industry in the United States," said Rod Colwell, CTR's CEO.
"Securing clean lithium produced with energy from a renewable resource helps to further decarbonize the battery supply chain which in turn, delivers cleaner cars with less environmental impact."
Last year, Stellantis announced a similar supply deal with Vulcan Energy Resources (Vulcan) for use in its EVs produced in Europe.
The EV maker as a part of its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan intends to have global annual battery electric vehicles sales of 5 million vehicles by 2030, reaching 100% of passenger car BEV sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger car and light duty truck BEV sales mix in North America. Stellantis also increased its planned battery capacity by about three times (from 140 GWh to approximately 400 GWh) which will be supported by five battery manufacturing plants in Europe and North America along with additional supply contracts.