The Race for Lithium: Is Europe catching up?

Europe needs more than 20 times more lithium by 2050 to power electric vehicles, store renewable energy and support the clean-tech industries of the future. Yet today, Europe accounts for less than 0.1% of global lithium mine production. So what's the plan? In this video, we go inside Project Lionheart in Germany's Upper Rhine Valley, where Vulcan Energy is building Europe's first green lithium mine. We look at how critical raw materials became a political priority in Brussels, what the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act is designed to achieve, and why supply chain resilience matters as much as climate targets. Featuring interviews with Vulcan Energy, Umicore, KfW and the European Investment Bank. Topics covered: — Why lithium matters for batteries, EVs, and the green transition — How Australia, Chile, and China currently dominate supply — Europe's domestic lithium deposits and new extraction technology — The EU Critical Raw Materials Act (2024) — Project Lionheart and Germany's Raw Materials Fund — EIB financing for critical raw materials — Europe's partnerships and beyond The European Investment Bank is the lending arm of the European Union. We finance projects that support climate action, innovation, and sustainable development across Europe and beyond. --------------------------------- Visit our website: https://www.eib.org Follow us on Facebook:   / europeaninvestmentbank   Twitter:   / eib   LinkedIn:   / european-investment-bank   Instagram:   / europeaninvestmentbank   --------------------------------- Chapters 0:00 Introduction 0:17 Why is Lithium so important? 0:45 What is Europe's plan for Lithium? 1:17 What are Critical Raw Materials? 2:12 The European Green Deal 2:52 Where does the Lithium come from currently? 3:46 Vulcan Energy's Project Lionheart 5:16 Europe's resilience plan 6:18 The impact on Europe's EV market 7:36 Europe's strategy 9:10 More to come