Saudi Arabia has all the ingredients needed to be a hub for battery production, according to the chief executive of Pure Lithium, a US-based technology firm.
The kingdom has lithium and vanadium in its oil-field brine, which Pure Lithium wants to use to produce rechargeable batteries, helping to cut China from supply chains, Emilie Bodoin told Semafor.
Local battery production would bolster the auto cluster that Saudi Arabia is developing in King Abdullah Economic City, near Jeddah, where state-backed EV makers Ceer and Lucid Motors are setting up assembly plants. Pure Lithium is backed by Energy Capital Group, which counts the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund among its investors.
Developing a domestic battery industry would help other PIF initiatives too, such as a PC manufacturing venture with China’s Lenovo. Saudi Arabia aims to become a hub for mining and metals processing more broadly, tapping into its estimated $2.5 trillion of resources, including copper, gold, and phosphates.
