Exxon Mobil plans to produce lithium in Arkansas

The move is the oil giant's first foray into producing a metal vital to electric vehicle batteries.

Exxon Mobil announced plans Monday to set up a plant in Arkansas to produce lithium, a key raw material for electric vehicles that poses one of the biggest challenges for the state's oil business. 'company.

Coming just a month after Exxon announced it would spend $60 billion to buy Pioneer Natural Resources, the announcement signals that the major company Oil intends to hedge its big bets on conventional fossil fuels with at least some investments in cleaner forms of energy that are needed to combat climate change.

The announcement does not represent a fundamental change in corporate strategy, but it is an acknowledgment that battery-powered vehicles are increasingly competing with gasoline-powered cars and trucks and diesel. It could also allow southern Arkansas to become a major source of lithium. Most of the metal today comes from Australia and South America, and much of it is processed in China.

“Electrification is going to be a major part of the energy transition, and we bring very relevant experience to lithium production,” Dan Ammann, president of Exxon Mobil Low Carbon Solutions and former General Motors executive, said in an interview. "We see a deployment opportunity that will be very profitable."

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