American startup Atana Elements plans to start lithium mining on the premises of Volkswagen plants in Germany and BMW in Poland, which use the critical metal in battery production.
According to the Financial Times, Atana Elements has obtained exploration licenses for sites in Salzgitter, Germany, and Wrocław, Poland, with a total area of 1.5 million acres.
AI technologies were used to identify areas where significant lithium deposits may be found.
Over the next 20 years, Atana Elements plans to extract about 26 million tons of lithium from the two projects.
One of the goals is to reduce Europe’s dependence on China for supplies of critical minerals.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
