China’s BYD Takes Next Steps on $290 Million Lithium Project in Chile
- Chinese EV maker is deploying an engineering team to Chile
- Executive VP Stella Li speaks in interview from Sao Paulo
A lithium mine in the Atacama Desert, Chile.
Photographer: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Chinese electric-car juggernaut BYD Co. is deploying an engineering team as part of a project to start processing lithium in Chile, home to the world’s biggest reserves of the metal that’s a key component in EV batteries.
The move is part of plans by BYD, already the world’s second-largest battery maker, to build a $290 million lithium cathode factory in northern Chile. Most of the company’s processing has been concentrated in China, so moving into the South American country will allow it more strategic access to the lithium reserves.