By Ludwig Hamburger
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Serbia will certainly offer Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Stellantis the chance to buy lithium for automobile batteries as the country prioritises European over Chinese carmakers, its head of state claimed.
” The EU requires lithium and we wish to enhance our connections with the EU,” Head of state Aleksandar Vucic informed German day-to-day Handelsblatt in a meeting released on Thursday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will certainly take a trip to Serbia for talks with Vucic on Friday, with essential basic materials for battery supply chains and electrical autos functioning as a crucial motif.
Serbia has actually restored a permit for Rio Tinto to establish Europe’s most significant lithium mine in a prospective increase to the continent’s electrical automobile market.
Vucic informed Handelsblatt that Serbia is considering a yearly lithium outcome of 58,000 tonnes, sufficient for regarding 1.1 million electrical lorries or regarding 17% of the European market.
Purchase offers would certainly be contingent on the biggest component of more lithium handling and battery manufacturing happening in Serbia, he included.
( Coverage by Ludwig Hamburger, Modifying by Rachel Much More)