Vulcan Energy Resources Limited (Vulcan) is pleased to announce the grant of its first lithium and geothermal energy licences in the Alsace region of France. The licences authorise Vulcan to explore lithium to support Europe’s Electric Vehicle (EV) transition and for geothermal energy for the decarbonisation of industry and local community heating.

The licences are located in the Mulhouse, Alsace region on the French side of the Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field (URVBF), which accounts for roughly one third of the Upper Rhine Graben, containing both geothermal energy and lithium-rich brine. This licence area of 463km2 expands Vulcan’s licence area from 1,771km2 to 2,234km2 in the URVBF between Germany and France.

The licences encompass several large industrial areas with factories and chemical parks in Mulhouse requiring renewable energy and sustainable heating solutions. This includes a factory owned by Stellantis, Vulcan’s largest customer and major shareholder. In May 2023, Vulcan and Stellantis agreed to a joint project in France for the potential use of geothermal renewable energy to decarbonise and localise the energy supply for Stellantis’ European operations.

The grant of the licences is timely, as Vulcan’s integrated renewable energy and ZERO CARBON LITHIUM™ Project is strongly aligned with the goals of the newly established “French Mineral Resources Investment Plan”. This initiative aims to analyse France’s critical raw material resources and provide investment recommendations, supported by the recently announced 2 billion euro “French Critical Raw Materials Fund”.

Vulcan is already in discussions with potential investment partners surrounding participation in Vulcan’s French licences.

Vulcan’s Managing Director and CEO, Cris Moreno stated: “This extension to our licence area is a natural next step for Vulcan as we apply our world-leading expertise and technology to produce lithium sustainably in France. Vulcan aims to be Europe’s first sustainable lithium supplier for Europe’s EV transition. In addition, Vulcan intends to co-produce geothermal renewable energy to decarbonise industries and provide heat for local communities in Mulhouse. These licence grants are timely, as we respond to significant customer demand driven by the initiated European battery passport policy and commitments for a full EV transition by 2035 across Europe. We look forward to supporting our French customers and working with local communities and companies to decarbonise their energy mix.”

Media Relations

International:

Annabel Roedhammer, Vice President Communications | aroedhammer@v-er.eu | +49 (0) 1511 410 1585

Australia:

Judith Buchan, Communications Lead APAC | jbuchan@v-er.eu | +61 411 597 326

Investor Relations

Kurt Walker | Head of Investor Relations | kwalker@v-er.eu | +61 8 6331 6156