The France intends to "contribute to the Chilean adventure of lithium extraction and exploitation obviously in connection with European needs and especially French," he said, recalling that Chile had the largest reserves in the world of this mineral that intoxicates the electric battery industry and should allow cars to wean themselves off CO2-emitting oil.
"There is no point in building +gigafactories+ of batteries if we do not have the materials used to make the batteries," he said from the capital Santiago. Several lithium battery manufacturing plants are planned in northern France.
Highlighting the strong competition in the sector, Becht said the France has a technological offer "totally different from that of other countries and companies". "We have the possibility to extract lithium by significantly reducing water consumption," he said, also highlighting an "environmentally friendly approach".
In late April, Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced a national lithium mining strategy that includes a public-private partnership. Currently, through a system of concessions, two private companies extract white powder from the Atacama salt pans, 1,700 km north of Santiago.
During his visit, Olivier Becht met with the Chilean Ministers of Mines, Energy, Transport and Economy. He also discussed cooperation between the two countries for the production of "green" hydrogen. This energy of the future is produced from renewable electricity – and not fossil fuels as for "grey" hydrogen. However, its economic model has yet to be found.
Chile is the 3rd France partner in Latin America.
Earlier this week, Becht visited Brazil where he met with several ministers, including the Minister of Mines and Energy.
© 2023 AFP