Europe's first lithium refinery opens in Germany

The refinery is expected to produce enough lithium hydroxide for 500,000 electric cars per year.

Transcript

00:00Europe's first lithium refinery has opened in Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Germany. It took just

00:08over two years and 140 million euros to complete the plant. Lithium is a key element required

00:15for the production of electric vehicle batteries.

00:19Electromobility, if you want to have a certain performance ability and range while driving,

00:27then the lithium-ion battery is unbeatable.

00:31The plant will receive most of its raw material from Brazil and will then convert the lithium

00:37into battery-compatible lithium hydroxide. The refinery is expected to produce 20,000

00:44tons of lithium hydroxide per year, enough to provide for half a million electric cars.

00:50One of the aims of the plant is to reduce Europe's dependency on external sources of

00:56supply. In the future, lithium mined within Europe will also be processed at the refinery.