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Lithium Americas + GM to develop lithium mine: Lithium Americas and General Motors reached a close on their joint venture to develop the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada, Reuters reports. The JV — first announced in October — would see GM contribute USD 625 mn through a cash and credit facility in exchange for a 38% stake in the project. A final investment decision on the project will be made in early 2025.
About the mine: Thacker Pass is set to open by the decade’s end. It is expected to produce 40k metric tons of battery-quality lithium carbonate annually in its first phase, enough for about 800k electric vehicles.
Nevada has big plans: The state is home to the US’ single operational lithium mine, but it is set to expand its lithium mining and processing capacity over this decade as part of a US bid to limit dependence on Chinese supply chains. In October, the US approved Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada, which is set to begin production by 2028 to supply Ford and other EV makers with lithium for approximately 370k EVs annually. The US-based supermaterial applications startup Lyten also announced plans to build the world’s first lithium-sulfur battery gigafactory near Reno, Nevada. The facility will have a production capacity of up to 10 GWh annually at full scale and is set to begin phase one operations by 2027.
IFC grants EUR 75 mn loan to help Senegal’s Sococim decarbonize: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has provided a EUR 75 mn green loan to Senegal’s largest cement manufacturer Sococim to help the company reduce carbon emissions, according to a statement. The loan will help Sococim advance its 2019 Climate Plan by modernizing its furnaces to use energy efficiency systems and alternative fuel technologies like solar and refuse-derived fuels. The modernization will help the company cut emissions by 312k tons annually by 2030.
