General Motors (GM) will be the first automaker to get directly involved in extracting lithium for electric car batteries

GM's most recent sustainable action is a partnership with the company Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR), which aims to extract low-cost lithium, which will be used in the batteries of its electric cars. Therefore, GM will make a millionaire investment to be part of a mining project launched by CTR known as Hell's Kitchen Lithium Power.

Read also

• Plant Maintenance Stoppage: resumes at the door and in the email
• Newly discovered lithium reserves in Minas Gerais cause a “Boom” in the international market
• China discovers new way to extract lithium from batteries for electric cars
• General Motors (GM) will open jobs for 3.000 people by the first half of next year to accelerate the production of electric cars
• Ford joins GM and Volkswagen EV race, plans to develop all-electric trucks and cars by 2025

Companies focus on extracting lithium for electric car batteries

CTR's plan must obtain licenses to start operations by the end of 2022. According to Rod Colwell, CTR's chief executive, the estimate is that by 2024 the project in partnership with GM could have yielded around 60.000 tons of lithium, enough for batteries for approximately 6 million electric cars.

Thus, GM would become the first automaker to develop its own source of lithium, which is essential for sustainable vehicle batteries. While other automakers such as BYD and Great Wall have invested in mining companies, GM is the first to get directly involved in mining.

This idea could serve as a model for other companies, given that the consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates that demand for lithium will grow by around 20% over the next four years. The announcement of the electric car battery partnership comes two weeks after GM raised its electrification budget to $35 billion.

How will lithium extraction for electric car batteries work?

CTR and GM report that lithium will be produced through a direct extraction process in a closed circuit due to its lower impact on the environment, zero waste production and also lower carbon dioxide emissions compared to common processes, such as evaporation ponds or extraction wells.

The geothermal process used involves the extraction of a superheated saline solution rich in lithium, from which the metal is extracted. After the first procedure, the solution is reinjected into the soil, making the process more sustainable.

Meet GM – General Motors

General Motors Corporation is a multinational based in Detroit, United States. The company has several brands in its portfolio, such as Buick, Cadillac, Pontiac, and the best known in Brazil, Chevrolet. The company is one of the largest assemblers in the world and generates jobs for 252 workers.

The automaker was sales leader for 77 consecutive years, gaining leadership in 1931 and losing only in 2007. Manufacturing around 8 million vehicles in 34 countries, the giant sells its cars to 140 countries.