Saudi Oil Giant Aramco to Invest in Lithium Production

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The world’s top crude oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, is set to announce on Wednesday a push to invest in lithium production and developments to capture part of the supply chain and diversify from oil, sources close to the largest oil firm globally told the Financial Times.
The move to boost investments in lithium is part of a wider plan at the Saudi oil giant to become a mining hub and diversify into the material critical for the energy transition, according to FT’s sources.
Last year, Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle (EV) brand and original equipment manufacturer announced the awarding of a $1.3 billion contract for the construction of the Ceer Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Complex in King Abdullah Economic City.
The Ceer brand is a joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Foxconn. Ceer says it is committed to designing, manufacturing, and supplying technologically sophisticated electric sedans and SUVs, leveraging advanced systems from Foxconn and BMW, all from its base of operations in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom has been seeking to diversify revenue streams and tap other profitable operations apart from oil, to fund the Vision 2030 plan of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which includes billions of U.S. dollars spent on futuristic projects in the Saudi deserts.
Aramco and Saudi start-up Lithium Infinity (Lihytech) announced in September a strategic collaboration to recover lithium from oilfield brine at Aramco’s huge oilfields.
At the end of last year, Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Mining Affairs, Khalid al-Mudaifer, told Reuters that the venture successfully extracted lithium from brine samples from Aramco’s oilfields.
“They’re building a commercial pilot at the oil fields. So the brines that come out of the field will feed into this commercial pilot on a continuous basis,” Al-Mudaifer told Reuters, commenting on the collaboration.