Posted on 21 Jun 2023
Chinese lithium-ion battery giant CATL is investing $1.4 billion to build two lithium industrial plants in Bolivia using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, Kallanish reports.
On Sunday, Bolivian President Luis Arce confirmed the partnership with CATL, the largest electric vehicle battery maker in the world. The Chinese company won the tender to develop Bolivia’s salt flats in January this year. At the time, Bolivia’s state-run lithium company YLB signed an agreement with a CATL-led Chinese consortium.
The firm will build two lithium plants in the country’s Uyuni and Oruro salt flats. Each plant has the potential to produce up to 25,000 tonnes/year of battery-grade lithium carbonate.
The country’s energy minister Franklin Molina Ortiz said the agreement marks a “milestone” in Bolivia’s energy history. It is also a step towards “energy transition with sovereignty”, the minister added. “We are evaluating the progress of these two projects, the possibility of increasing investments to advance more efficiently and optimise production by 2025.”
Overall, the project could see a total investment of $9.9 billion, the South American country’s energy ministry said in a statement. Taking into account Uyuni’s tourist potential, CATL will develop the plant without compromising the region’s landscape. While the ministry did not reveal a construction schedule, reports suggest it could begin as early as next month.
Bolivia aims to export lithium-ion batteries made with domestic materials by the first quarter of 2025. The country also plans to inaugurate its first lithium carbonate industrial plant this year, with a capacity of 15,000 t/y.
With the lithium carbonate plant, together with the two CATL projects, the country is expected to have the capacity to produce 65,000 t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate by 2025, said Ortiz. “Based on the international price of this product, we could generate around $1,000 million per year of income for the country,” he added.
Source:Kallanish
