WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Energy Department said Friday it has offered a conditional commitment to lend up to $700 million to Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC to mine lithium carbonate for electric vehicle batteries in Nevada.
The Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project could potentially support production of lithium for approximately 370,000 EVs each year and reduce annual gasoline consumption by nearly 145 million gallons, the department said. The Rhyolite Ridge project has agreements to supply Ford Motor, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions a Toyota Motor and Panasonic Corp joint venture, and others.
(Reporting by David Shepardson)
