With General Motors (GM) recently committing 650 million towards lithium production and after receiving a favorable ruling from the U.S. District Court for federal permitting on Feb. 6, officials from Lithium Nevada confirmed that Thacker Pass construction is tentatively set to start this summer.
“The General Motors partnership is instrumental in advancing our project. General Motors has committed to taking the entire amount of our of our product for at least the next 10 years, so it secures our future and it helps us advance into construction, which we’re going to do this summer,” said Tim Crowley, Vice President of Government & Community Relations for Lithium Nevada in a phone call.
The amount of lithium that is estimated to be extracted from Thacker Pass is expected to support up to one million electric vehicles per year and the commitment from GM is one of the largest investments ever by an automaker to produce raw battery materials (lithium carbonate), according to Lithium Americas.
“[The GM deal is] a major success for the United States, ensuring that we keep all of this material, that we onshore all of this material, and keep it where it’s used domestically,” said Crowley. “It’s really one of the biggest examples that we’ve transitioned out of a development company into an actual producer.”
Construction will bring thousands of jobs to the community throughout construction, but will also pose problems for locals with added traffic on Highway 95 and around town. Lithium Nevada will have to combat the influx of vehicle traffic while launching construction.
“We just released a new feasibility study and we’ve been able to reduce our truck traffic. We’re going to keep working at that to make sure that we get more efficient with time. We’re also committed to working with the community to make them aware of what our travel patterns are going to be during construction, making sure that they’re aware of the stages of construction that we’re in and what that might mean. We are just committed to over communicating,” said Crowley.
After construction is completed some time near 2026, production is set to start in the second half of 2026, according to Lithium Nevada. The Thacker Pass site, the third largest lithium source in the world (and number one in the U.S.), will generate 500 jobs during operation.
“The agreement with GM is a major milestone in moving Thacker Pass toward production, while setting a foundation for the separation of our U.S. and Argentine businesses,” said Lithium Americas President and CEO Jonathan Evans in a news release. “This relationship underscores our commitment to develop a sustainable domestic lithium supply chain for electric vehicles. We are pleased to have GM as our largest investor, and we look forward to working together to accelerate the energy transition while spurring job creation and economic growth in America.”