Chilean President Gabriel Boric said on Monday that China’s Tsingshan Holding Group will invest $233.2 million in lithium in Chile.
“The most important thing is that we do not limit ourselves to the extraction of lithium, but that we create value chains and transfer knowledge,” Boric said in a video posted on social media.
The government said the project aims to produce 120,000 tons of lithium iron phosphate (LFP), which is used to power electric vehicles. LFP is a cheaper competitor for nickel-cobalt-manganese cells.
Yongqing Technology, which is part of Tsingshan Holding, will receive access to 11,244 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate at a preferential price from SQM until 2030. The plan will also import lithium carbonate from Tsingshan’s joint lithium project with Eramet in Argentina.
The Chilean government announced a plan earlier this year to take state control of the lithium industry. Negotiations are currently underway for state control of SQM, which has a lithium contract that expires in 2030.
The government statement said the plant is expected to be operational by May 2025 and will create 668 jobs when it reaches full capacity.
The Chilean president flew to China last Thursday for a trip to strengthen relations between the two countries. Boric will return on the 18th after participating in several business forums. (Reporting by Natalia Siniawski and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Toby Chopra and Louise Heavens)