Bolivia aspires to be a global lithium battery supplier

Bolivia’s Deputy Minister of Alternative Energies, Alvaro Arnez, announced that Bolivia plans to become a global supplier of lithium batteries for major auto manufacturers focusing on this technology as the country progresses in lithium industrialization.

In a recent meeting with Bolivian President Luis Arce, the leading electric vehicle lithium supplier, Chinese firm Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), confirmed an investment of US$1.4 billion for the establishment of two factories utilizing Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology.

These factories are to be built in the Coipasa salt flats, Oruro, and Uyuni, Potosí, each projected to produce 25,000 tons of lithium carbonate annually.

Arnez expressed the country’s aspiration to expand further in lithium industrialization, transitioning from lithium carbonate production to manufacturing cathodes and batteries.

However, he emphasized that this progression would occur gradually.

“We have investment plans for cathode production, which is the next step after lithium carbonate production. The process will evolve gradually,” he added.

Earlier in April, President Arce raised concerns about external threats to Bolivian lithium and reiterated his commitment to the nation’s sovereign transition toward lithium industrialization.

He dismissed the U.S. warnings about the future of the white metal and endorsed the agreement with the Chinese consortium CATL BRUNP & CMOC (CBC).

In his view, this deal strengthens the sovereign model of lithium industrialization, ensuring the state’s involvement in every step of the production chain.

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