Lithium

On today’s battle-ready episode of Quick Charge, it’s Elon Musk vs. the world as big players position themselves for control of enough lithium to build 600 million electric cars and the rest of the industry squares up to Tesla in the battle for market leadership.

The McDermitt Caldera is an extinct supervolcano on the Oregon-Nevada border that, depending on who you believe, is loaded with enough lithium to power 600 million electric cars. It begs the question: who will control the $1.5 trillion dollar mineral deposit?

Mangrove Lithium is scaling up in a big way to produce more homegrown lithium in North America. The Vancouver, Canada-based company just announced it will build another new facility, and this one will crank out 20,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium yearly – enough to power over 500,000 EVs, as much as North America’s current refining capacity.

Stardust Power (Nasdaq: SDST), a US battery-grade lithium product developer, has officially broken ground on its $1.2 billion lithium refinery in Oklahoma, which will be one of the largest in the US. 

The facility will eventually be able to produce up to 50,000 metric tons per year of battery-grade lithium.

The global shift to electric vehicles (EVs) is accelerating, but McKinsey’s latest report warns of significant strain on the supply chain for critical battery materials by 2030.

ExxonMobil and LG Chem just announced a big move that could strengthen the US critical mineral supply chain and be a game-changer for EV manufacturers.

The US government has approved the construction of a massive new lithium mine on public land in Nevada as part of a strategy to break China’s dominance over the supply chain of critical minerals used in EVs. The mine will be a key supplier to Ford’s future EVs.

Supermaterials trailblazer Lyten will invest over $1 billion to build the world’s first lithium-sulfur battery gigafactory in Reno, Nevada.

EV battery maker SK On has signed a non-binding agreement to buy lithium from ExxonMobil’s first planned extraction project in Arkansas.

Great news for EVs: Lithium Nevada got the green light for a $2.26 billion loan from the US Department of Energy to finance a lithium carbonate processing plant.

California’s infamous Salton Sea has been a known hotbed of lithium for years, but no one had a sense of how much “white gold” was found there. Now a new study quantifies that, and it’s impressive: The huge underground reserve of scorching hot brine located underneath the lakebed contains enough lithium to build batteries for 375 million electric vehicles, making it one of the largest lithium brine deposits in the world.

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden administration announced that a new round of federal funds to support the US battery manufacturing industry is becoming available. This $3.5 billion package is the second part of a large $6 billion-plus program that awarded funds to its first applicants last year.

The evil empire of ExxonMobil is taking a slight reprieve from birthing oil barons to invest its time and money into a promising new venture – lithium. The carbon-clad gasoline company has begun drilling for a different earth material in the US, with an aim to become a leading supplier of lithium vital to current EV battery chemistry by the end of the decade. Do you think they’re using zero-emissions equipment yet?

Chile’s president, Gabriel Boric, wants to create a plan to require state involvement in and control of any lithium contracts going forward in the country with the world’s largest lithium supply.

Boric says that the plan will protect biodiversity and indigenous rights and will help to distribute the gains from Chile’s mineral wealth more broadly among Chileans.

General Motors announced that GM Ventures is leading a $50 million Series B financing round in EnergyX – a company specializing in direct lithium extraction and refinery technologies. As part of the investment, GM will help fund the commercialization of EnergyX’s sustainable extraction technology in exchange for lithium to be exclusively used for EV production.

One of the largest lithium producers globally, Albermarle Corp, announced plans Wednesday to make Chester County, South Carolina home to its new $1.3 billion Mega-Flex lithium processing facility. The plant, once open, is expected to support the production of roughly 2.4 million EVs each year.

During a press conference yesterday, supervisors in Imperial County, California, announced they had voted unanimously to offer tax rebates, property tax deductions, and the potential for further incentives to any and all battery manufacturers willing to produce Lithium products within the county’s lines. The county shared it is also seeking federal funding and state programs to support its “Lithium Valley” project with hopes of bringing more battery manufacturing to California.

A US district court judge has upheld the federal government’s decision to approve the Thacker Pass lithium mine – North America’s largest known lithium source – after a permit issued in 2020 faced legal challenges.

Researchers at Stanford University and the US Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have identified what causes lithium metal batteries to short-circuit and fail – and this could help avoid the problem in future battery production.

Carbon-conscious mining company Snow Lake Lithium and battery production specialist LG Energy Solution announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a domestic supply chain of lithium in North America. When Snow Lake’s lithium mining operation gets up and running in 2025, it plans to supply LG with the precious Earth material essential to current EV battery chemistry. This domestic supply chain could help several automakers qualify for US federal tax credits as well.

Compass Mineral International, a leading supplier of essential minerals like salt and sulfate of potash (used in plant fertilizer), has been pivoting to focus on the “new gold” rush, lithium. The minerals company, which has deals to supply lithium for EV leaders like Ford and LG Energy, is doubling down by using a new extraction technology to obtain the mineral with minimal impact on the environment.