General Motors Co. on Tuesday said it has secured a new source of nickel and cobalt for its Ultium battery cells through an investment of up to $69 million in an Australian minerals exploration company.
The Detroit automaker announced it is investing in Queensland Pacific Metals for the development of the company's proposed Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub, or TECH, project in northern Australia.
"The collaboration with Queensland Pacific Metals will provide GM with a secure, cost-competitive and long-term supply of nickel and cobalt from a free-trade agreement partner to help support our fast-growing EV production needs," Jeff Morrison, GM's vice president of global purchasing and supply chain, said in a statement. "Importantly, the agreement demonstrates our commitment to building strong supplier relationships and is aligned with our approach to responsible sourcing and supply chain management."
The agreement is just the latest example of automakers making investments and striking deals deep into the supply chain in a bid to shore up supplies of the raw materials needed to fulfill their EV ambitions. On Monday, for example, Jeep maker Stellantis NV said it had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the owner of a nickel and cobalt project in western Australia for the "future sale of quantities of battery grade nickel and cobalt sulphate products."
GM said the nickel and cobalt it procures from Queensland Pacific Metals will be used in batteries that power a range of products, including the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer EV and Chevrolet Equinox EV.
Queensland Pacific Metals plans to import high-grade nickel laterite ore from New Caledonia for processing at the TECH facility. It has obtained rights to a patented refining and recycling process called DNi ProcessTM, which it claims uses "environmentally-conscious" methods of metal extraction from the laterite.
In a statement, Queensland Pacific Metals CEO Stephen Grocott said GM's agreement with the company "brings us one step closer towards construction of the TECH Project where we will one day aim to deliver the world's cleanest produced nickel and cobalt."
Construction on the project is slated to begin next year.
GM said that sourcing materials from Queensland Pacific Metals would help make its EVs eligible for consumer incentives under a new clean energy tax credit program included in the Inflation Reduction Act.
The automaker has previously said that it has binding agreements for all of the battery raw material it needs to support its goal of 1 million units of annual EV capacity in North America by the end of 2025.
"This new collaboration," said GM's Morrison, "builds on those commitments as we look to secure supply through the end of the decade, while also helping continue to expand the EV market."
