• US Consul General Norman Thatcher Scharpf visits Vulcan’s Zero Carbon Lithium™ operations including its Lithium Extraction Optimisation Plant (LEOP) which is about to produce Europe’s first tonnes of domestically produced lithium chemicals.
• Discussions strengthen the Minerals Security Partnership between the US and Europe.

Karlsruhe, 15 November 2023. The Consul General of the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt, Norman Thatcher Scharpf, visited Vulcan’s Lithium Extraction Optimisation Plant (LEOP) in Landau, Germany, which is about to produce Europe’s first domestically produced lithium chemicals. During his visit, the Consul General emphasised the importance of collaboration between Europe and the US to ensure secure and sustainable lithium supply chains to benefit both the US and Europe’s decarbonisation targets. In addition to the LEOP, Thatcher Scharpf also viewed Vulcan’s geothermal power plant in Insheim Vulcan Labs, as well as the planned future Phase One well site of the Company, to gain insights into Vulcan’s Zero Carbon Lithium™ Project.

Vulcan is on track to be the first integrated renewable energy and lithium project to supply the battery electric vehicle industry from Europe for Europe, therefore actively supporting Europe’s independence within the supply of critical raw materials. Consul General Scharpf’s visit also strengthens the Minerals Security Partnership between the countries, seeking to accelerate the growth of resilient and sustainable supply chains for critical energy minerals. This timing is also significant, with the European Commission only announcing two days previously that a provisional agreement has been reached on the European Critical Raw Materials Act, aiming to increase and diversify the EU’s critical raw materials supply for EV battery production. The critical raw materials act, which will also name strategic critical raw materials projects, is likely to come into effect early in 2024.

“It was a great pleasure to welcome the Consul General on site and to show him firsthand how Vulcan is building a domestic, secure, and sustainable lithium supply, contributing to decarbonising the lithium supply chain for electric vehicles in Europe. The Minerals Security Partnership underlines the persistent and strong cooperation between Europe and the US, with Vulcan at the forefront of providing a fully sustainable value chain”, said Vulcan’s CEO and Managing Director, Cris Moreno.