Stellantis enters into an agreement with Vulcan Energy Resources to supply lithium hydroxide for batteries. These batteries are intended for Stellantis Group electric vehicles for the European market. Vulcan Energy Resources produces the lithium hydroxide without using fossil fuels.
Vulcan is company looking to decarbonise the transition to electric mobility. Through its Zero Carbon Lithium project in Germany's Upper Rhine, the company produces lithium hydroxide from brine. Vulcan does this using geothermal energy, without the use of fossil fuels and carbon footprint. The production process also has minimal water use and no mining.
"Our resource is large enough to meet Europe's need for lithium for many years, and ensure that the transition to electric vehicles takes place with a minimal environmental footprint," the company writes on its website.
1.05 billion tonnes of CO2
The company states that with existing extraction methods for lithium hydroxide, it is estimated that some 1.05 billion tonnes of CO2 would be emitted to electrify all vehicles worldwide. With the Zero Carbon Lithium project, Vulcan says this can be done without a carbon footprint.
Lithium hydroxide is additionally extracted from brine in South America using evaporation. Vulcan reports that this process consumes 469 m3 of water per tonne of lithium hydroxide. This is 80 m3 at the Zero Carbon Lithium project.
Stellantis commits to electrification
The agreement with Vulcan is part of Stellantis' electrification strategy. The company plans to invest over 30 billion euros in electrification and software development until 2025. The agreement with Vulcan helps the Stellantis Group ensure sufficient available raw materials for batteries.
The company aims for more than 70% of vehicles sold in Europe to be low-emission by 2030. This percentage should reach 40% in the US. Towards these targets, all Stellantis Group brands are betting on electrification.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
