Tesla evaluating lithium refinery in Texas for electric car batteries

Elon Musk had previously suggested Tesla could get into lithium refining at scale because the cost of the metal, a key component in manufacturing batteries, has surged. If Tesla’s application in Texas is approved, construction on a lithium hydroxide refining facility could begin in the fourth quarter of 2022.Christophe Gateau | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesElectric car giant Tesla is evaluating the feasibility of a lithium hydroxide refining facility on the gulf coast of Texas.Tesla said the plant would be focused on the development of “battery-grade lithium hydroxide” and be “the first of its kind in North America,” according to a newly released letter to the Texas Comptroller’s Office.The company would process “raw ore material into a usable state for battery production” then ship the lithium hydroxide to various Tesla battery manufacturing factories, the application said.In…

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