Serbia high rate lithium battery wholesaler

Rio Tinto has said Serbia's lithium reserves in Loznica could produce an estimated 58,000 tonnes annually, enough for 1.1 million electric vehicles. During an interview with Germany's Handelsblatt ahead of the Belgrade summit, Vucic said conversations were ongoing with a range of European automakers including Mercedes, Volkswagen and Stellantis.

Vucic has hinted that Serbia could begin mining lithium as early as 2028. The president has also said the deal would involve guarantees that limited the sale of raw materials from the country and ensure that most of the lithium exports would be through Serbian-produced batteries or component parts.

Serbia has vast lithium deposits near the western city of Loznica, where a disputed mining project run by the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has been a perennial political fault line in the Balkan country in recent years.

Enhance the development of value chains for raw materials, batteries and EVs, by facilitating close cooperation between EU and Serbian industrial actors and stakeholders. The MoU will encourage the development of a mutually beneficial pipeline of projects with special focus on the EV industrial ecosystem.

Vucic, whose party won parliamentary elections in December, has said environmental protection would be a priority after extracting new assurances from the company. Rio Tinto has said Serbia's lithium reserves in Loznica could produce an estimated 58,000 tonnes annually, enough for 1.1 million electric vehicles.

The memorandum of understanding inked during a "critical raw materials summit" in Belgrade is seen as the first step in developing Serbia's mineral resources and potentially building supply chains, including manufacturing lithium batteries and component parts.