Peugeot owner pumps $76m into Vulcan on lithium hopes
Shares in the lithium producer have soared after announcing a $76m investment from Euro-US car giant, Stellantis.
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Multinational car company Stellantis has taken an eight per cent stake in Vulcan Energy, sending the shares soaring as it positions the lithium player for a key role in electric car manufacturing.
The $76m (€50M) investment makes the Peugeot, Chrysler and Fiat owner Vulcan’s second largest shareholder and will help bankroll the miner’s planer production in the Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field in Germany.
Stellantis carmaker portfolio also includes Dodge, Citroën, Jeep, Maserati and Alfa Romeo.
Shares in Vulcan soared 27 per cent by midday trade to $6.34.
Vulcan managing director Francis Wedin said the investment was a “a strong statement” by one of the world’s largest car companies in support of “strategic sourcing of battery materials”.
”We are fully aligned with Stellantis’ decarbonisation and electrification goals, which represent some of the most ambitious in the industry,” he said.
Mr Wedin remains Vulcan’s largest shareholder.
Vulcan Energy is already producing geothermal energy at its Upper Rhine project and is planning to pump the brine and produce lithium hydroxide, a key input for battery manufacturing.
The deal also extends Vulcan and Stellantis’ binding lithium hydroxide offtake agreement by five years to 2035.
The offtake, first announced in 2021, saw Stellantis agree to buy a minimum of 81,000 metric tons and a maximum of 99,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide over the term of the deal.
In addition to the equity investment, Vulcan also noted that Stellantis would increase its planned battery capacity by 140GWh to circa 400GWh, which will be supported by five battery manufacturing plants in Europe and North America, together with additional supply contracts.
Vulcan reported in June its proposed lithium production plan was moving forward after the German city of Landau voted to “take a positive stance” towards the project.
The company also touted moves to secure 141km2 of new exploration licences in the Upper Rhine region.
Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares said the investment in Vulcan would help the business “create a resilient and sustainable value chain” for the company’s European electric vehicle battery production.
The car giant has touted its plans to invest more than $45m (€30bn) into electric vehicle manufacturing through 2025.
Stellantis was stung in May 2022 with a $434m fine in the US for attempting to illegally conceal pollution volumes from its diesel vehicles.
Originally published as Peugeot owner pumps $76m into Vulcan on lithium hopes
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