France enters 'white gold' rush as top producer aims to supply Europe with lithium

Paris-headquartered minerals elephantine Imerys plans to make a lithium extraction task that it's hoped volition assistance conscionable request and unafraid proviso for Europe's emerging electrical conveyance market.

In a connection Monday, Imerys said its Emili Project would beryllium located astatine a tract successful the halfway of France, with the institution targeting 34,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide accumulation each twelvemonth from 2028.

According to the business, this level of accumulation would beryllium capable to "equip astir 700,000 electrical vehicles per year."

Alongside its usage successful compartment phones, computers, tablets and a big of different gadgets synonymous with modern life, lithium — which immoderate person dubbed "white gold" — is important to the batteries that powerfulness electrical vehicles.

The task being planned by Imerys is taking signifier astatine a clip erstwhile large economies similar the EU are looking to ramp up the fig of electrical vehicles connected their roads.

The EU plans to halt the merchantability of new diesel and gasoline cars and vans from 2035. The U.K., which near the EU connected Jan. 31, 2020, is pursuing akin targets.

With request for lithium rising, the European Union — of which France is simply a subordinate — is attempting to enactment up its ain supplies and trim dependency connected different parts of the world.   

In a translation of her State of the Union code past month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said "lithium and uncommon earths volition soon beryllium much important than lipid and gas."

As good arsenic addressing information of supply, von der Leyen, who switched betwixt respective languages during her speech, besides stressed the value of processing.

"Today, China controls the planetary processing industry," she said. "Almost 90% … of uncommon earth[s] and 60% of lithium are processed successful China."

"So we volition place strategical projects each on the proviso chain, from extracting to refining, from processing to recycling," she added. "And we volition physique up strategical reserves wherever proviso is astatine risk."

Back successful France, Imerys said it was finalizing what it described arsenic a "technical scoping study" successful bid to "explore assorted operational options and refine geological and concern aspects relating to the lithium extraction and processing method."

The tract selected for the task has, since the extremity of the 19^th century, been utilized to nutrient a benignant of clay called kaolin for usage successful the ceramics industry.

The operation superior expenditure of the projected lithium task is estimated to beryllium astir 1 cardinal euros (roughly $980 million), Imerys added.

"Upon palmy completion, the task would lend to the French and European Union's vigor modulation ambitions," the institution said. "It would besides summation Europe's concern sovereignty astatine a clip erstwhile car and artillery manufacturers are heavy babelike connected imported lithium, which is simply a cardinal constituent successful the vigor transition."

In caller years, a scope of factors has created unit points erstwhile it comes to the proviso of the materials important for EVs, an contented the International Energy Agency highlighted earlier this twelvemonth in its Global EV Outlook.

"The accelerated summation successful EV income during the pandemic has tested the resilience of artillery proviso chains, and Russia's warfare successful Ukraine has further exacerbated the challenge," the IEA's study noted, adding that prices of materials similar lithium, cobalt and nickel person soared.

"In May 2022, lithium prices were implicit 7 times higher than astatine the commencement of 2021," it added. "Unprecedented artillery request and a deficiency of structural concern successful caller proviso capableness are cardinal factors."

In a caller interrogation with CNBC, the CEO of Mercedes-Benz sketched retired the existent authorities of play, arsenic helium saw it erstwhile it came to the earthy materials required for EVs and their batteries.

"Raw worldly prices person been rather volatile successful the past 12 to 18 months — immoderate person spiked and really immoderate person travel backmost down again," Ola Kallenius said.

"But it is existent arsenic we go electric, all-electric and much and much automakers spell into the electrical space, determination is simply a request to summation mining capacities and refining capacities for lithium, nickel, and immoderate of those earthy materials that are needed to nutrient electrical cars."

"We person everything that we request now, but we request to look into the mid to semipermanent and enactment with the mining manufacture present to summation capacities."