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This week Bechtel received the final go-ahead for construction of the Thacker Pass lithium mine and processing facility in northern Nevada. This project is a turning point for U.S. energy security and the transition to cleaner energy technologies.
We’re off to a running start. Early works are complete, site preparation and excavation are under way, we’ve ordered long-lead items, and awarded contracts for key services. To make the project a reality, we are marshalling our long-standing capabilities in the global supply chain while forging new relationships with local suppliers in northern Nevada.
Lithium is a key ingredient for electric vehicle batteries, and demand for it has surged dramatically. But the world faces a worsening supply gap in crucial energy transition metals such as lithium and copper.
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence predicts that demand for lithium will almost quadruple and eclipse worldwide production by 2030. By 2040, supply will barely meet half of total lithium demand. Learn more about how lithium will be a powerful force in the energy transition in our blog on the journey from ore to lithium energy.
The U.S. currently produces only 5,000 tons of lithium carbonate per year. To put this in perspective, the world consumed about 500,000 tons of lithium in 2021, and that number is expected to reach over 2.6 million tons by 2030. So, the U.S. still relies heavily on outside sources for mining and refining this critical mineral. Most lithium comes from Australia, China, and South America but — critically — most of it is refined in China.
Ensuring an abundant and reliable capability is a national imperative. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy provided Lithium Americas a $2.26 billion loan to support the Thacker Pass project, which will play a key role in increasing domestic energy production.
When the first phase of Thacker Pass is completed, the facility will single-handedly produce eight times the current U.S. output of lithium carbonate, all mined and processed on-site. Phase 2 will double that amount.
For the first time, the U.S. will be able to choose a completely domestic supply chain for electric vehicle batteries. Thacker Pass will also play a vital role in closing the circle of Nevada’s “Lithium Loop,” a cycle that extends from mining to producing and then recycling lithium batteries.
Thacker Pass will become a flagship of the U.S. lithium industry, using proven technologies in a unique way while minimizing water consumption and getting its energy from carbon-free sources: hydroelectric plants and an on-site steam turbine generator that uses excess heat from the Thacker Pass sulfuric acid plant.
What’s more, Lithium Americas is committed to doing it the right way – sustainably and in cooperation with local communities and governments at all levels.
For Bechtel, the Thacker Pass Project aligns perfectly with our vision and values. And as Lithium Americas’ engineering, procurement, and construction management contractor, we will help our customer assemble a world-class team of contractors, vendors, and suppliers — and then help keep the project moving ahead safely, on budget and on schedule.
Of course, the secret to success will be the boots we put on the ground — the skilled people who will pour the concrete, erect the steel, weld the pipe, and make the electrical connections. At peak, we expect nearly 2,000 craftspeople will be on site.
Growing the skilled labor pool will be an important measure of success for this project. We’re proud to partner with North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) to help build a qualified workforce for Thacker Pass and future projects, including a new corps of apprentices who will earn a good living while setting themselves up for a career in the construction industry.
Like lithium itself, these workers will be in demand. Lithium Americas estimates it will take up to 50 more Thacker Pass plants to meet demand by 2040. Projects in Arkansas, Nevada, and southern California show promise as they make their way through development.
We can hope they all follow the example that Thacker Pass is sure to set.
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