US car maker General Motors and mining company Lithium Americas announced on Tuesday they will jointly invest in developing the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada. It is the largest known source of lithium in the US and the third largest in the world.
Under the agreement, GM will invest $650 million in Lithium Americas, which it said represents the largest ever investment by a car manufacturer in battery raw materials production.
Thacker Pass has been the subject of fierce opposition from environmentalists and indigenous people.
Lithium Americas estimates the lithium extracted and processed from the project can support production of up to one million electric vehicles (EVs) per year. Lithium carbonate from Thacker Pass will be used in GM’s proprietary Ultium battery cells.
GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra said: “GM has secured all the battery material we need to build more than one million EVs annually in North America in 2025 and our future production will increasingly draw from domestic resources like the site in Nevada we’re developing with Lithium Americas.
“Direct sourcing critical EV raw materials and components from suppliers in North America and free-trade-agreement countries helps make our supply chain more secure, helps us manage cell costs, and creates jobs.”
GM’s investment will be split between two tranches.
Production at Thacker Pass is expected to begin in the second half of 2026. In connection with the closing of the first tranche investment, GM will receive exclusive access to Phase 1 production through a binding supply agreement. It has the right of first offer on Phase 2 production. Lithium Americas expects Thacker Pass to create 1,000 jobs in construction and 500 in operations.
GM has announced four US cell plants with annual capacity of 160GWh, including the Ultium Cells joint venture plant with LG Energy Solution in Ohio, which is in production. Additional JV sites are in Tennessee and Michigan – scheduled to open in 2023 and 2024.
It is building EVs in two plants in Michigan, one in Tennessee and one in Ontario, Canada.
Photo: Thacker Pass. Courtesy Lithium Americas
