Livista Energy Europe to set up EUR 600 million lithium refinery in Emden

The Luxembourg-based company will build its first low-carbon lithium refinery in Europe in Emden, Lower Saxony. The Luxembourg-based company has signed a letter of intent to obtain a 32-hectare site with its partner Niedersachsen Ports following a competitive bidding process. 

The Emden Seaport site will see lithium produced for use in the growing European electric vehicle market. Operations at the 32-hectare site to produce enough battery-grade lithium (40,000 tpa output) to produce 850,000 electric vehicles per year will begin in 2026. Emden is home to the third largest German North Sea port, with deep port and 100 percent renewable energy access. 

Announcing the company’s Emden plans, Livista Energy CEO Daniel Bloor singled out Germany’s energy policy and access to a high volume of renewable energy as being decisive factors in the eventual decision to locate to Lower Saxony. “By locating our first site in Germany – a country with such a clear policy towards electrification and battery cell production – we will have access to the right partners.” 

Germany Trade & Invest played an active role in the company’s decision to select the east Frisian site, providing site selection, project consultancy and liaison services with the local economic development agency in the region. 

“Livista’s announcement to locate its first European lithium refinery in Emden pays testimony to Germany’s forward-looking energy policy and commitment to investment in new battery technologies” said Germany Trade & Invest CEO Robert Hermann. “This is a further step in the region’s and the country’s energy transition - one that strengthens the European electric vehicle and battery supply chain and provides a welcome boost to the economy in Lower Saxony.”