GM invests in world’s third largest lithium mine to secure EV battery supplies

Following in the footsteps of other automakers, General Motors has secured EV material production by dedicating $650 million in investments towards the largest lithium mine in the U.S.

The funding will go to Lithium Americas Corp. to convert the Thacker Pass lithium mine into a fully functional operation. According to the agreement between the two companies, GM will be the mine’s sole customer.

GM has followed other automakers in developing Other such arrangements are likely to arrive in the future, at least according the automaker’s CEO Mary Barra, who commented that the partnership was “a landmark investment and certainly won’t be the last.” Interestingly, the news arrives only a week after the company scrapped plans to build another battery factory with LG Energy Solution.

Lithium metal is an essential component of EV batteries, and are in high demand as automakers vie to wrestle control from early arrivers such as Tesla. The new lithium mine is expected to open for business in 2026. Once running, it is expected to supply enough materials to build 1 million vehicles.

GM has other reasons for obtaining the domestic lithium mine. The Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act requires a large percentage of a vehicle’s components to be sourced from the U.S. Becoming the sole proprietor of natural resources is an obvious way to work around the issue, at least for a company of the automaker’s size.

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