stellantis pushes the accelerator on the electrification of its range, thanks to the new agreement with Vulcan Energy Resources for the supply of lithium. The Australian mining company will supply the automotive group in Europe lithium hydroxide for the production of batteries for electric vehicles in Europe. At present, the agreement has a five-year term and foresees shipments to begin in 2026. Overall, Vulcan will supply Stellantis with a minimum of 81 tonnes and a maximum of 99 tonnes.
The supply agreement with Vulcan is part of Stellantis' electrification strategy (illustrated on the occasion of EV Day last July 2021), to ensure adequate availability of essential raw materials for electrified vehicle batteries. In this way, the Italian-French group "plans to invest over 30 billion euros by 2025 in electrification and software development, aiming to maintain 30% efficiency more than the sector average in the ratio between total expenditure of R&D and capital account compared to revenues”, reads a note.
On the other hand, Vulcan Energy intensifies its presence on the European markets. The agreement with Stellantis adds to the one with Renault for the supply of between 26 and 32 tonnes of lithium hydroxide over six years. This is a second agreement with the French group, with which it had already agreed on the supply of 6-17 tonnes per year.
“Stellantis is vigorously and rapidly moving forward with its electrification strategy. This agreement is further proof of the fact that we have the right competitive spirit to keep our commitments – he declared Michelle Wen, Chief Purchasing and Supply Chain Officer of Stellantis -. The freedom to move with safe, clean and affordable means of transport represents a strong expectation of our societies and our commitment is to provide answers that meet these requests."
The goal of the giant born from the merger of FCA and PSA is that over 70% of its vehicles sold in Europe and more than 40% of those sold in the United States are low emission vehicles (LEV) by 2030. Each of the 14 company brand will offer fully electrified solutions at the top of the category.
Francis Wedin, Managing Director of Vulcan, added: “The supply agreement with Stellantis is in line with our mission to decarbonise the supply chain of lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles. “Vulcan's Zero Carbon Lithium™ project also aims to reduce the transport distances of lithium-based chemicals in Europe, and our location in Germany, close to Stellantis' European gigafactories, is consistent with this strategy. We are confident that the relationship between Vulcan and Stellantis will be long-lasting and productive, and will allow both to achieve our shared ambitions of sustainability and decarbonisation”.
The project Zero Carbon Lithium initiated by Vulcan in Germany, in the upper Rhine valley, it uses geothermal energy to produce lithium hydroxide for batteries obtained from brine, without the use of fossil fuels and with minimal water consumption, thus reducing the production of carbon in the battery metal supply chain.
