Stellantis Signs Agreement to buy Battery Grade Nickel & Cobalt Sulphate From GME

 Stellantis N.V. and Australia's GME Resources Limited have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the future sale of quantities of battery grade nickel and cobalt sulphate products from the NiWest Nickel-Cobalt Project in Western Australia (NiWest).

NiWest is an advanced nickel-cobalt development project and will produce approximately 90,000 tpa (tons per annum) of battery grade nickel and cobalt sulphate for the burgeoning electric vehicle market.

To date, more than AU$30 million has been invested into drilling, metallurgical test work and development studies. The proposed location of the processing facility for NiWest is within approximately 30 kilometers of Glencore-owned Murrin Murrin operation, the largest nickel-cobalt operation in Australia.

Earlier this year, Stellantis strengthened its supply of low-carbon lithium hydroxide,  signing agreements with Vulcan Energy and Controlled Thermal Resources for Europe and North America, respectively.

As part of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Stellantis announced plans of reaching 100% of passenger car battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the US by 2030.

Stellantis will become carbon net zero by 2038, with a 50% reduction by 2030.

Maxime Picat, Stellantis Chief Purchasing and Supply Chain Officer, says: “Every day, Stellantis is working to provide our customers 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 is a partner of the highest caliber and GME is delighted to have signed this MOU in what we hope is the first step in a long-term partnership,” adds GME Managing Director, Paul Kopejtka. “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 N.V.'s brands include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep®, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall, Free2move and Leasys.