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General Motors (GM) is increasing its funding in a Nevada lithium mine and its operator to almost $1 billion as it looks to earn a prolonged-term offer of a critical mineral for electrical car batteries.
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The Detroit automaker said it may make contributions $625 million to a new joint mission with Canadian firm Lithium Americas (LAC). This deal, which follows a $320 million funding in February 2023, consists of $430 million in cash and $195 million letter of credit facility. In total, GM has invested about $945 million in the mission and the company.
The joint mission marks the largest ever publicly announced funding by a U.S. automaker in a lithium carbonate mission, according to the companies. Lithium Americas has been given a $2.3 billion loan by the U.S. authorities to build the mine.
In return, GM will obtain the entirety of the materials produced by the first phase of the Thacker Pass mission in Humboldt County, Nevada. Lithium Americas said in March it plans to earn 40,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate in that phase. That’s ample to make 1 million lithium iron phosphate batteries, or 571,428 ternary lithium batteries, based on the greater finish of lithium consumption estimates each year.
GM has also agreed to enter into another 20-year offtake agreement for up to 38% of the mission’s 2nd phase of production. In this phase, Lithium Americas aims to earn 80,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate.
“Our relationship with GM has been significantly bolstered with this joint mission as we continue to pursue a mutual goal to build a sturdy domestic lithium offer chain by advancing the fashion of Thacker Pass,” Lithium Americas CEO Jonathan Evans said in a statement. “We’ll be working closely with GM to advance towards the final funding decision, which we are targeting by the finish of the year.”
The brand new funding comes as GM looks to ramp up its EV plans, which has integrated largely retiring the “Ultium” branding and building a new battery cell research lab at its expertise campus in Warren, Michigan. Earlier this year, GM said it may team up with Samsung to form a $3.5 billion battery cell manufacturing plant in Indiana.
GM’s next-generation batteries are projected to slit costs by about $6,000 per EV, Kurt Kelty, the executive overseeing battery fashion, said at an tournament earlier this month, which ought to serve it increase sales. CEO Mary Barra has said the company is on pace to earn around 200,000 EVs in North America this year, with profitability on a production basis this quarter.