Stellantis has made a new equity investment of €50 million in lithium producer Vulcan Energy Resources, and extended its original binding offtake agreement to 10 years.

Vulcan will apply some of the new funding to a planned expansion of production at its Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field. Vulcan is already producing geothermal energy at the site, and plans to produce lithium hydroxide with zero fossil fuels and a net zero carbon footprint as part of its Zero Carbon Lithium Project.

“Making this highly strategic investment in a leading lithium company will help us create a resilient and sustainable value chain for our European electric vehicle battery production,” said Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO.  

“Stellantis’s significant investment in Vulcan and the Zero Carbon Lithium Project represents a strong statement by one of the world’s largest automakers regarding sustainable and strategic sourcing of battery materials,” said Vulcan Managing Director Dr Francis Wedin. “It is encouraging to see a leading automaker investing in local, low-carbon lithium production.”

Source: Stellantis