Posted on 28 Apr 2023
Building long-term lithium supply infrastructure is crucial to General Motors’ future, company executives said during the company’s first-quarter earnings conference call.
By 2032, the US Environmental Protection Agency is targeting a 67% EV share of the US fleet, as Kallanish has previously reported.
Getting enough lithium supply laid in to support that long-term goal begins now, says cfo Paul Jacobson.
“Obviously, we've been doing a lot of work with multiple partners across the entire battery raw material spectrum. We think that's the prudent thing to do, for not only a scarcity perspective, but also making sure we get to a security of supply for our longer-term ambitions. So we're not just looking at, do we do a procurement contract for this year or for that year? We're looking at forming big long-term partnerships.”
He adds that structural relationships are fast becoming more important than project-by-project deals.
“So whether it's the work we did with Lithium Americas, the joint venture that we've done with POSCO, you see these relationships getting set up as structural. And that's where we're really focused to do, because we've got the 1 million vehicle target in 2025. We said we're targeting 50% by 2030 and then, ultimately, all electric vehicle production in 2035. So building that infrastructure now is where I think we're securing an advantage.”
Ceo Mary Barra points out that the proposed EPA rule is ambitious, and it hopefully matches consumer demand.
“But when we look at the '27 through '32 targets that the EPA has put out, we're still digesting them, understanding what it means, and we'll provide comment as appropriate,” she says. “We do support continuing to increase to combat climate change. But we've got to dig into the details a little bit more on what's being put out there to make sure that this is able to be driven by customer demand, because anything else is not going to be productive."
Source:Kallanish
