In $1 Billion Project, Bolivia Selects Chinese Giant Consortium for Lithium Exploration – Essential Material in Electric Car Battery Production

The Billion-Dollar Project Will Make Bolivia the World’s Largest Producer of Lithium

The Bolivian government, led by Luis Arce, has finally chosen the Chinese consortium led by Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), along with CMOC Group and Guangdong Bangpu Cycle Technology, also from China. The analysis took about a year, and the choice was made among at least 20 competitors, where the winner emerged with the possibility to explore lithium in Bolivia, which is the essential element
for the production of electric car batteries.

The agreement of the consortium led by CATL was made with the Bolivian state-owned company Yacimientos
de Litio Bolivianos (YLB), translated as Bolivian Lithium Deposits. The state company leads the
approval of a project that will require 1 billion dollars and will transform Bolivia
into the largest producer of lithium in the world.

Where is the Billion Invested in Lithium Exploration Going?

The destination of the investments secured by the US$ 1 billion contract is the construction of roads, installation of base and infrastructure, and energy supply. Thus, Bolivia will be able to utilize the richest known lithium deposits in the world, with 21 million tons, and take advantage of them.

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In 2019, the Bolivian government revoked its partnership with the German company ACI Systems, which initiated the dispute for the lithium exploration contract. The project had been launched only a year earlier, and guarantees the exploration of the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world, with the largest lithium reserve on the planet.

Despite having the largest lithium reserves in the world, Bolivia has few local means to develop them. The signing of the contract in La Paz, with the Bolivian president himself, Luis Arce, anticipates the start of commercial operation and export of lithium batteries in the first quarter of 2025.

Chinese Giant CATL Also Has a Partnership in Brazil

CATL from China and Brazilian company Moura formed a partnership in 2020. The company won a bid that included all the major vehicle manufacturers in the world. The partnership will allow the import of the cells with which Moura assembles its plant in Belo Jardim – an electrical set that today already equips, for example, the electric trucks of Volkswagen Caminhões in Resende. The expectation is that soon Moura will be able to assemble in Brazil the sets it currently receives from CATL.