Rosatom plans to occupy 10% of the global lithium market by 2030

Moscow, September 22 - Neftegaz.RU. Uranium One, a unit of Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom, plans to begin producing lithium by 2023, targeting between 9% and 10% of the global market by 2030, the CEO of Techsnabexport (TENEX, a Rosatom subsidiary) Sergei Polgorodnik said.

“We are considering the acquisition of raw material assets overseas to integrate into global supply chains for final products such as batteries with localized production in Russia,” Polgorodnik noted.

Demand for lithium will more than quadruple by 2030, according to Polgorodnik. "There is intense competition at the moment for high-quality lithium deposits across the world; this is a critical link in the production cycle."

"We are considering the acquisition of mining assets in Africa," Polgorodnik said. "There are all the conditions for a quick start: high-quality raw materials, long-term licenses and an existing portfolio of off-take contracts.We plan to conclude a number of contracts by the end of next year," Polgorodnik added.

Uranium One is a global energy company and one of the world’s largest uranium producers. Its portfolio includes assets in Kazakhstan, the United States and Tanzania.

In October 2019 Russian Uranium One inked a MoU to acquire up to a 51% stake with Canada's Wealth Minerals, which has a controlling stake in the Atacama lithium project in northern Chile.

The Atacama lithium project covers a 46,200-hectare license in one of the world’s highest grade and largest sources of the white metal, which has become an irreplaceable component of rechargeable batteries used in high tech devices and electric vehicles (EVs).