The European Union and Serbia agreed on Friday on a deal to develop the supply of raw materials for batteries, at an Essential Raw Materials Summit, following Serbia’s approval of a contested lithium-mining project.
‘There will be no project without total protection, and we know that this will happen because we are bringing the best experts in Europe to Serbia,’ Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic declared before the signing ceremony.
He stressed that the deal aims to ensure locally sourced raw materials “remain on European soil.”
Lithium is crucial for the production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and the European car industry is investing heavily in this transition to EVs, as combustion-powered vehicles will be banned from sale in the EU from 2035.
Presently, China dominates the battery market, prompting Brussels and Berlin to seek to reduce their dependency.
Earlier this week, Steffen Hebestreit, a German government spokesman, said the agreement was part of a “sustainable lithium extraction project” in Serbia.
Discovered in 2004, the lithium reserves in Serbia’s Jadar region are among Europe’s largest.
According to Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, which oversees the project, these reserves could yield up to 58,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate annually, enough for 1.1 million EVs – or 17% of European EV production.
However, the mine has been a source of political contention in recent years due to environmental concerns in the farming region.
