Dec 11, 2019 - 06:57 pmBMW buys 540 million euros worth of...

Dec 11, 2019 - 06:57 pm
BMW buys 540 million euros worth of lithium in Australia

The BMW Group has just concluded a supply contract with Ganfeng Lithium based in Jiangxi, China, with a forecast volume of €540M for the supply of lithium hydroxide for battery cells. The lithium will be extracted in Australia with deliveries to start next year.

The carmaker claims to cover 100 per cent of its lithium hydroxide requirements for its fifth-generation batteries. The contract term runs over five years (2020 – 2024). Ganfeng’s lithium is extracted by mining from so-called hard rock deposits in Australia, whereby according to BMW “the highest standards with regard to sustainability” apply.

With the switch to the fifth generation of electric drives, BMW is also facing a paradigm shift in its purchasing policy: from 2020, the Munich-based company will buy the two critical raw materials – cobalt and lithium – directly from the mines. For cobalt, this will mean mines in Morocco and Australia, in the case of lithium, this will again mean sourcing the “land from down under”. BMW then makes these raw materials available to the cell suppliers so that they can use them for the BMW cells. In November just passed, BMW placed significant orders with CATL and Samsung SDI for this purpose. BMW hopes that this will provide the best possible transparency regarding the origin of the raw materials and thus ensure compliance with environmental standards and human rights.

“Alongside cobalt, lithium is one of the key raw materials for electromobility. With the signing of this contract, we are securing our lithium needs for battery cells,” says BMW Purchasing Director Andreas Wendt according to the car manufacturer’s press release. “Sustainability is an important aspect of our corporate strategy and plays a central role in expanding electromobility. We are fully aware of our responsibilities: Lithium and other raw materials must be extracted and processed under ethically responsible conditions.” Wendt promises.