Vulcan is pleased to announce that the first project phase “Lionheart” for the combined production of climate-neutral lithium and renewable energy has been classified by the European Commission as a “Strategic Project” under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). The European Critical Raw Materials Act came into force in May 2024 and aims to secure a sustainable supply chain for critical raw materials, including lithium, in Europe. It sets clear targets for increasing domestic capacity to build strategic raw material supply chains, improving access to finance and ensuring compliance with the highest social and environmental standards. Under this regulation, projects that can increase the EU’s capacity to extract, process and recycle strategic raw materials and diversify the EU’s supply of raw materials from third countries are declared “strategic projects”. By obtaining Strategic Project status, Vulcan’s Lionheart project is recognized as contributing to the achievement of these objectives.

Strategic Project status under the Critical Raw Materials Act will assist Vulcan in the continued implementation of the Lionheart project. For example, a meeting of the CRMA funding sub-group may be requested to discuss solutions and advice on finalizing Vulcan’s project funding, taking into account private and public funding sources. This sub-group includes well-known national promotional banks, the EIB, the EBRD and private financial institutions. The status also ensures that regional and national authorities can provide financial resources from the European Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund to support the Lionheart project.

As part of the application phase for Strategic Project status, 170 applications were submitted to the European Commission. Each application was reviewed by at least four external experts selected by the Commission, whose combined expertise covers the areas of technology, finance, environmental and social standards (ESG) and the international classification of raw material deposits (UNFC). Of the applications received, 47 projects were awarded strategic project status. Vulcan is aiming to produce 24,000 tons of lithium hydroxide monohydrate annually for the European automotive and battery industry with the first project phase Lionheart. In addition, renewable energy will be generated from deep geothermal energy, which will be made available to the surrounding communities in the project region in the form of green electricity or heat. This innovative, combined approach from Europe, for Europe formed the basis for Vulcan’s application for Strategic Project status under the Critical Raw Materials Act.

Cris Moreno, Managing Director and CEO of Vulcan Energy, comments: “Receiving Strategic Project status from the European Commission underlines the importance of our project to the European industry and further drives the establishment of the first fully domestically produced and sustainable lithium value chain in Europe. The Critical Raw Materials Act plays a crucial role in driving change in Europe and emphasizes the importance of domestic and sustainable extraction of raw materials. With access to Europe’s largest lithium resource in the Upper Rhine Graben, Vulcan’s project is strategically positioned to support the objectives of the Critical Raw Materials Act and diversify the EU’s lithium supply from third countries.”