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BMW secures lithium in Saudi Arabia

BMW wants to become more independent from China and has apparently secured access to the capacities of a new lithium processing facility in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, plans for a battery factory in Straßkirchen near Straubing are being pushed forward.

Batteries as the Key: Recently, BMW presented its plans for a new battery factory in Straßkirchen near Straubing, against which there is resistance from environmental protection associations and a citizens' initiative. For this, access to lithium is essential in the supply chain. | Photo: BMW
Batteries as the Key: Recently, BMW presented its plans for a new battery factory in Straßkirchen near Straubing, against which there is resistance from environmental protection associations and a citizens' initiative. For this, access to lithium is essential in the supply chain. | Photo: BMW
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According to a media report, the Munich-based automotive group BMW has secured access to the capacities of a lithium processing plant in Saudi Arabia, which the Gulf state plans to build there. With this, the Bavarians want to become more independent from lithium supplies provided by China, which has so far been one of the key suppliers of the essential raw material for the production of electric car batteries. As explained by Tony Sage, the CEO of the lithium ore specialist European Lithium, which is supposed to supply the plant with ore, to the Financial Times, a large part of the world is afraid of a cessation of exports by China. "That would be a disaster for the energy transition," said the manager. The Australian start-up is to supply the Saudi plant with ore from the mine in southern Austria and, alongside the Saudi industrial conglomerate Obeikan Investment Group, hold 50 percent of the shares. This investment is assessed at $350 to $400 million and, starting from 2027, is expected to deliver up to 9,000 tons of lithium hydroxide annually to BMW. Only recently, Ford announced that it had secured extensive access to lithium deposits from the company Nemaska Lithium in Canada.

Currently, BMW is planning a large-scale battery factory for the production of high-performance batteries in Straßkirchen in the Straubing-Bogen district, for which a second information event was recently held and against which environmental protection associations and a citizens' initiative are raising objections. A public referendum on the project, which, according to experts, could seal off 140 hectares of Europe's and the world's most valuable farmland, is in preparation. BMW promises a space-saving and as ecological as possible construction method with 20 percent green areas and green-roofed buildings, as well as an almost energy self-sufficient supply for the potential new location.

Translated automatically from German.
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