Lithium is an essential ingredient in lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric cars, as well as rechargeable power for laptops, phones and other devices. It is the lightest of all metals, making it well suited for use in everything from pacemakers to jets.

Lithium does not occur on its own in nature but is found combined with other minerals. At our Rincon Lithium Project in Argentina, we have the capability to extract and produce battery-grade lithium carbonate from raw brine. At our Jadar project, we discovered lithium in a new mineral in the Jadar Valley in Serbia, now known as jadarite. Lithium is part of our portfolio of materials essential to a low-carbon future. Lithium is a key element needed for low-carbon technologies including the electrification of transport, large-scale batteries and energy storage. Double digit growth in lithium demand is forecast over the next decade.

Without lithium ion batteries you won’t have rapid mass adoption of electric vehicles or energy storage. And without the lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite anode and manganese supply chains to feed these battery plants, you won’t have lithium ion batteries.” - Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence

Partnerships across the value chain

Partnerships and collaboration are essential to bringing lithium from mine to market. For example, we are investing in European-based battery technology and manufacturing company InoBat Auto to support the development of a battery ecosystem in Europe – spanning R&D, lithium mining, battery manufacturing and recycling. InoBat has a battery research and development facility and pilot plant under development in Slovakia and is actively pursuing plans to build a number of gigafactories, including one in Serbia where our proposed Jadar lithium mine is located. We support industry-wide initiatives aimed at building a competitive, sustainable and innovative value chain in Europe, such as the European Battery Alliance and the European Raw Materials Alliance. We are also members of the Global Battery Alliance, a public-private collaboration to help establish a sustainable battery value chain.

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