PARIS — Stellantis has taken a $52 million fairness funding in Vulcan Vitality Assets, an Australian-German startup that plans to mine lithium, a key component in electrical automobile batteries, with zero greenhouse fuel emissions.
 
The funding offers Stellantis an 8 p.c stake in Vulcan, making it the second-largest shareholder, and will probably be used to broaden the miner’s efforts within the Higher Rhine Valley in Germany, Stellantis mentioned Friday. The 2 firms have additionally prolonged to 10 years a five-year settlement introduced final November.
 
“Making this extremely strategic funding in a number one lithium firm will assist us create a resilient and sustainable worth chain for our European electrical automobile battery manufacturing,” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares mentioned.
 
Stellantis, with its companions Mercedes-Benz and Whole/Saft, plans to open a minimum of three battery factories in Europe within the coming years, in France, Germany and Italy. 
 
The automaker says it is going to want 150 gigawatt-hours of battery capability to succeed in its 2030 aim of promoting solely electrical autos in Europe.
 
As a part of the preliminary five-year settlement, Vulcan mentioned it will provide between 81,000 and 99,000 tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Europe to Stellantis beginning in 2026.
 
Vulcan is one among quite a lot of firms testing a direct lithium extraction (DLE) methodology that makes use of much less land and groundwater, making it extra sustainable than the commonest current strategies of open-pit mines and brine evaporation ponds.
 
Along with Stellantis, Vulcan has signed provide agreements with Renault Group, battery maker LG Chem and Belgian recycling group Umicore.