[ad_1]
(Adds Berkshire's statement)
January 22 (Reuters) – A Berkshire Hathaway Inc. project on lithium production from geothermal wells in California has raised questions about the technological process that the company could use and the eventual success of this venture.
The Financial Times, quoting people familiar with the file and a fundraising document, said Berkshire's subsidiary, BHE Renewables, had signed an agreement allowing lithium extraction from its geothermal wells in California and was in talks to supply white metal to Tesla Inc.
Berkshire denied signing any agreement.
The company "is badessing mineral extraction opportunities in the Imperial Valley" in southern California, said spokesman BHE Renewables on Tuesday, Jessi Strawn, in a statement. She declined to comment further.
The potential interest of Berkshire, controlled by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, for lithium has shed new light on metal, a key ingredient used in the manufacture of electric car batteries and one of the cornerstones of the global will to move away from fossil fuels.
According to the FT report, the company could produce 90,000 tonnes of lithium per year, which would exceed the annual output of the world's leading producers, Albemarle Corp and SQM.
A project of such magnitude could change the paradigm of an industry that has struggled to increase its performance in recent years. Industry observers indicated that they were eager to see the details of any project, if any.
Berkshire's geothermal activities are located in the Salton Sea in California, part of the Imperial Valley, and use a lithium-rich brine.
It was unclear whether a Berkshire Lithium production company would produce metal using evaporation ponds, standard industry technology or emerging industrial processes, some of which are largely unproven. . Almost all methods of lithium extraction are expensive and require large amounts of electricity.
Industry badysts and investors have expressed skepticism about the success of any Berkshire lithium project in the region, where others have failed. Simbol Materials attempted to develop a lithium project at Salton Sea earlier in the decade before its cash reserves dwindled.
"It's only slightly better than saying you're going to extract lithium from the ocean," said James Calaway, president of Nevada Lithium's ione start-up group Ltd. and former president of the Argentine lithium producer. Orocobre.
Wall Street so far does not seem impressed. The shares of existing lithium producers have changed little on the Australian, Canadian and US stock exchanges since the FT report. The shares of companies in sectors in which Buffett has invested in the past have generally evolved significantly after an investment. (Report by Ernest Scheyder, edited by Richard Chang)
Source link
