CBC, a Chinese consortium that includes battery giant CATL, signed an agreement with Bolivia on Wednesday, deepening their cooperation in one of the world's largest lithium reserves.
Bolivian President Luiz Arce also said that Bolivia may launch a new international tender this month, hoping that China will increase its contribution to the battery production chain.
"As a country, we want to be involved in the entire production chain, not just the mining industry," he said.
The latest agreement builds on a January 2023 agreement with Bolivia's state-owned Lithium company, when CBC agreed to invest more than $1 billion to begin processing Bolivian lithium by installing two Industrial Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) plants.
The second agreement provides an additional investment of $90 million and expands CBC's involvement in the emerging lithium industry in Bolivia, home to the Uyuni Salt Flats, one of the largest lithium reserves.
YLB President Karla Calderon, speaking at the government residence in La Paz, said the agreements covered the development of a pilot plant with an initial capacity of 2,500 metric tons per year. The plan is to "build a future industrial plant with an annual capacity of 25,000 tons," he said, but he did not give a specific date for the expansion.
CBC representative Zhou Qinghua said the pilot was "strategically important for both sides."
"CBC will use its advanced technology and experience to conduct pilot tests to make Bolivia an important global hub in the lithium battery industry chain," he said.
Bolivia has also signed agreements with two Chinese companies, CBC and CITIC Guoan, and a Russian company, Uranium one Group, to build industrial facilities for the production of lithium carbonate.
China has also signed an agreement with India's Altmin to jointly develop cathode material technology for lithium batteries.
