General Motors (GM) has entered into a new investment agreement with Lithium Americas to establish a joint venture (JV) to fund, develop, construct and operate the Thacker Pass lithium carbonate project in Humboldt County, Nevada.

GM will provide $430 million of direct cash funding and a $195 million letter of credit facility to support the construction of Phase 1 of Thacker Pass alongside a conditional commitment for a $2.3 billion US Department of Energy (DOE) loan announced earlier this year.

The GM financing can be used as collateral to support reserve account requirements under the DOE Loan. The JV transaction replaces a $330-million Tranche 2 common equity investment commitment from GM under its original investment agreement with Lithium Americas announced in January 2023, in which GM acquired 15 million shares in the developer.

Once the transaction is closed, GM will have a 38% interest and enter into an additional 20-year offtake agreement for up to 38% of production volumes from Thacker Pass Phase 2 and will retain its right of first offer on the remaining balance of Phase 2 volumes.

Detailed engineering at Thacker Pass continues to progress in advance of issuing full notice to proceed, and approximately 40% of the design is complete. Site preparation for major earthworks has been completed and approximately 50% of the process plant area has been excavated to prepare for concrete placement, which is forecast to begin by mid-2025.

“We’re pleased with the significant progress Lithium Americas is making to help GM achieve our goal to develop a resilient EV material supply chain,” said Jeff Morrison, SVP, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain at GM. “Sourcing critical EV raw materials, like lithium, from suppliers in the U.S., is expected to help us manage battery cell costs, deliver value to our customers and investors, and create jobs.”

Source: Lithium Americas