Stellantis and GME Sign Non-Binding MOU for Future Offtake of Battery Grade Nickel and Cobalt Sulphate
Stellantis N.V. and GME Resources Limited announced the signing of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the future sale of quantities of battery-grade nickel and cobalt sulphate products from Western Australia's NiWest Nickel-Cobalt Project.
NiWest is an advanced nickel-cobalt development project that will produce 90,000 tpa (tonnes per annum) of battery-grade nickel and cobalt sulphate for the rapidly growing electric car market.
More than AU$30 million has been invested in drilling, metallurgical testing, and development studies to date. NiWest's Definitive Feasibility Study is set to begin this month.
The proposed location for NiWest's processing facility is around 30 kilometres from Glencore's Murrin Murrin operation, Australia's largest nickel-cobalt operation.
Maxime Picat, Stellantis' Chief Purchasing and Supply Chain Officer, said:
"Every day, Stellantis is working to provide our customers with clean, safe, affordable, cutting-edge freedom of mobility. Securing the raw material sources and battery supply will strengthen Stellantis’ value chain for electric vehicle battery production and, equally important, help the Company achieve its aggressive decarbonization target.”
Stellantis announced ambitions to achieve 100% passenger car battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States by 2030 as part of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan. Stellantis will be the industry leader in climate change mitigation, becoming carbon net zero by 2038 and reducing emissions by 50% by 2030.
GME Managing Director, Paul Kopejtka, said:
"Stellantis is a partner of the highest calibre, and GME is delighted to have signed this MOU in what we hope is the first step in a long-term partnership. We’re very pleased with how our discussions have progressed and we now look forward to progressing more detailed negotiations in parallel with the start of the Definitive Feasibility Study for the NiWest Nickel-Cobalt Project. A Definitive Agreement with Stellantis would be a critical step in being able to progress the NiWest Project through to commercial operations.”
Stellantis increased its supply of low-carbon lithium hydroxide earlier this year by signing deals with Vulcan Energy and Controlled Thermal Resources, respectively, for Europe and North America.
Source: Stellantis
