Canadian lithium development company Rock Tech Lithium Inc. is engaged in the development and production of battery-grade lithium in North America and Europe. A plant for the production of lithium hydroxide is to be built in Guben, Brandenburg, Germany, and is scheduled to come on stream in 2024.
Now the company announced a second lithium plant in Germany, but permits as well as customers for the company’s big plans are still pending.
The projects
Lithium development company Rock Tech Lithium Inc. based in Vancouver, Canada, intends to supply the European auto industry with the necessary lithium for the production of electric vehicles in the future.
In Canada, Rock Tech is focused on the development of the Georgia Lake project in Ontario. The project is 100 percent owned by the Company and comprises approximately 277 claims and 41 mining leases.
In addition, Rock Tech aims to build and commission five lithium plants for the production of battery-grade lithium in Europe over the next few years. These are to supply the European automotive industry with lithium.
So far, only a few large lithium producers such as Albemarle, SQM, Livent or Allkem compete in the market. The European auto industry could thus become more independent, similar to Tesla with its own lithium projects, through the planned Rock Tech projects in Europe.
Last October, Rock Tech announced the planning and development of a lithium plant in Guben, Brandenburg, Germany. It has now been announced that another of the five planned European plants is to be built in Germany.
The Guben Project
The construction of electric cars requires car batteries produced with lithium hydroxide. The Guben project involves the construction and operation of a corresponding converter plant in which the extracted raw material is to be converted into lithium hydroxide.
According to Rock Tech’s plans, the lithium will be mined in Canada and then processed in the plants planned in Europe. In Guben, Brandenburg, alone, around 24,000 tons of lithium are to be processed per year from 2024. This would allow around 500000 electric vehicles to be built.
Rock Tech has already secured the corresponding site for the construction of the lithium factory in Guben. The plant itself, like the other factories planned in Europe, is to be built by the industrial services provider Bilfinger from Mannheim.
At present, however, neither the approval process for the Georgia Lake project in Canada for mining lithium has been completed, nor has approval been granted for the lithium plant in Guben.
Similarly, Rock Tech does not yet have any firm customers from the European automotive industry. So far, all projects of the Canadian lithium development company are nothing more than big plans. Industry insiders believe the company’s plans are too ambitious. It therefore remains to be seen whether the initial hype surrounding the young company was justified.
