Tesla formally broke floor Monday on a Texas lithium refinery, making it the one U.S. automaker to refine its personal lithium.
CEO Elon Musk stated the refinery will produce sufficient battery grade lithium for 1 million electrical autos by 2025, which might make Tesla the biggest processor of lithium in North America. Tesla will proceed to depend on current suppliers like Albermarle and Livent because it goals to achieve its 2023 gross sales purpose of round 1.8 million vehicles globally.
Lithium is the important thing essential materials in lithium-ion batteries that energy the electrical automobile revolution. In the present day, the U.S. produces simply 1% of the world’s lithium, with Australia, Chile and China main the best way. The Biden administration’s EV tax credit score goals to spur extra home battery materials sourcing and manufacturing and scale back the U.S.’s reliance on China, which hosts 60% of the world’s lithium refining capability and almost 80% of the world’s lithium-ion battery manufacturing capability.
“As we glance forward a couple of years, a basic choke level within the development of electrical autos is the provision of battery grade lithium,” stated Musk, through the ground-breaking ceremony exterior of Corpus Christi.
The CEO drove as much as the occasion in a Cybertruck full with a roof rack accent that caught the eye of trade watchers. Authorities officers similar to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Nueces County Decide Connie Scott and Deputy Assistant Secretary on the U.S. Dept. of Power Kathleen Hogan attended the occasion.
Musk stated the corporate goals to complete building on the refinery subsequent 12 months, with full scale manufacturing slated for 2025. The chief described the timeline as “extraordinarily quick by regular requirements.” Which may be true, however it’s slower than Tesla had initially projected. Throughout Tesla’s Investor Day in March, Drew Baglino, senior vp of powertrain and power engineering, stated the corporate aimed to have the refinery operational by the top of this 12 months and begin manufacturing early subsequent 12 months.
Baglino additionally stated on the time that the refinery would have a 50 gigawatt-hour per 12 months capability, one thing Musk didn’t affirm throughout Monday’s occasion.
Throughout Investor Day, Musk additionally inspired different startups to become involved in refining lithium, which he likened to “minting cash.”
“We’re doing it as a result of we’ve got to, not as a result of we wish to,” Musk stated beforehand.
Tesla will make investments $375 million to construct the ability, in response to filings with the Texas Comptroller. The refinery is Tesla’s newest growth into Texas, which started when the corporate moved its headquarters to the state from California in 2021. The automaker invested almost $6 billion into its Austin gigafactory final 12 months. In January, Tesla stated it deliberate to take a position one other $770 million to develop the manufacturing facility to incorporate cathode and drive unit manufacturing and a battery cell testing website.