French automaker Renault has signed a lithium supply deal with German-Australian start-up Vulcan Energy Resources, in the latest attempt by an electric car maker to secure a stable supply of the battery metal ahead of an anticipated surge in demand.
Renault. Photo: Ramon Costa / PxHere
Photo: Ramon Costa / PxHere
As part of the deal, starting in 2026, Vulcan will supply 6,000 to 17,000 tonnes of lithium to Renault from its German geothermal brine deposits. The five-year deal is renewable if both companies wish to continue.
Renault has already said it was aiming for 90% of its models to be fully electric by 2030, adding that Vulcan's emissions-free geothermal lithium production process was one of the company's main appeals.
Vulcan is planning to invest €1.7 billion in constructing geothermal power stations and lithium-extraction facilities, with the aim to begin production in 2024.
Read more: Zinnwald: Europe's First Major Lithium Project Enters Feasibility Phase
Typically, geothermal projects work by extracting super-hot lithium-rich brine from underground reservoirs and then use that heat to produce energy, after which the lithium is extracted from the brine.
Once extraction is complete, the brine is then reinjected back into the earth, which is a more sustainable approach than the two currently most common methods of open-pit mining and brine evaporation ponds.
Last month, Vulcan, which is back by Hancock Prospecting - one of Australia's largest investors - signed a long-term deal with South Korea's LG Chem's battery unit, to sell lithium hydroxide from its project in Germany.
The company has also signed a memorandum of understanding for lithium supply with the world's fourth-largest automotive firm, Stellantis.
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