Aurora solar inverter factory in Lisbon

With electric vehicle (EV) sales surging across Europe, Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt announced April 13 its intent, together with Lisbon-based multinational energy conglomerate Galp Energia, to construct a massive lithium conversion plant on Portugal's southern coast.

Portugal has the largest proven reserves of lithium in Europe, which is why Aurora is there. The refinery will use Portuguese lithium as well as foreign imports from places like Australia (which, the company acknowledges, will contribute to the CO2 emissions associated with the venture).

As part of the companies' joint venture, Northvolt has agreed to offtake up to 50% of the plant's capacity for use in its battery manufacturing. While lithium is more plentiful elsewhere in Europe, namely in Germany and Serbia, Northvolt and Galp selected the Iberian peninsula with an eye toward sustainability.

Northvolt has agreed to purchase 50% of the lithium produced by Aurora (the company is both a shareholder and customer) — though cofounder Paolo Cerruti says he would happily take all the refinery's output. “There is enough lithium in the ground, there is not enough capacity to purify it,” he tells Sifted.

Galp and Northvolt have selected the port city of Setúbal as the location for their Aurora lithium conversion plant, which aims to become a steppingstone for the development of an integrated lithium-battery value-chain in Europe.

Joint venture Aurora to develop Europe's largest, most sustainable lithium plant in Portugal and strengthen Europe's position within the battery value chain.