General Motors secures more US-produced lithium supply

General Motors has taken steps to secure lithium, a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries, in the United States. It does so through a strategic investment and partnership with Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR), Australia, which is developing a project that is set to become the largest in the country by 2024. The deal, announced Friday, calls for GM to invest "several million" in CTR's Hell's Kitchen geothermal brine project near the Salton Sea, California, approximately 160 miles (258 km) southeast of Los Angeles. The automaker did not disclose the exact investment numbers, but said that with this move it would be one of the first to develop its own source for the battery metal. The company will have initial rights to the lithium produced in the first phase of the project, including an option to a multi-year deal if CTR's extraction process proves successful. The announcement comes at a time when both the Biden administration and US-based automakers are trying to accelerate the development and adoption of cleaner lithium extraction methods and increase domestic supplies of the white metal. "By securing and locating the lithium supply chain in the US, we are helping us produce high-performing, affordable, high-mileage electric cars. At the same time, we are helping to reduce our environmental footprint and bring more affordable lithium to market," Doug Parks, GM's executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, said in the statement. The Hell's Kitchen project is expected to start producing lithium in 2024. This production would be used in GM's Ultium battery cells, which will be manufactured in a joint venture with LG Energy Solution after being validated and tested. GM's bet is bold and not risk-free as there is currently no large-scale lithium production in the United States from geothermal wells. Most of the world's lithium comes from lithium brine deposits in South America's "lithium triangle" Argentina, Chile and Bolivia as well as from hard rock deposits in Australia. Based on data released by the California Energy Commission, the area where the Hell's Kitchen project is located could produce 600,000 tons of lithium carbonate annually, valued at approximately $ 7.2 billion.