CEZ to power Czech lithium project with renewables

Czech CEZ as (FRA:CEZ) will supply green power to the Cinovec lithium/tin project in the Czech Republic as part of strategies to reduce the project's carbon footprint, Australian and UK-listed European Metals Holdings Ltd (LON:EMH) said this week.

Cinovec, the largest hard rock lithium deposit in Europe, is being developed by European Metals in a joint venture with CEZ.

Measures identified to reduce the carbon dioxide (CO2) intensity of Cinovec's lithium chemicals include the adoption of solar power generation, an electric mining fleet, Hypex Bio explosives and the use of green hydrogen for thermal energy.

CEZ intends to provide 100% renewable energy to power the mine, the Front-End Comminution and Beneficiation (FECAB) plant and Lithium Chemical Plants (LCP). The utility currently owns 1,720 MW of renewable power capacity, which is set to expand by 1,500 MW by 2025, according to the announcement.

Consultancy Minviro Ltd was hired to carry out a life cycle assessment (LCA) for Cinovec's proposed lithium battery-grade chemicals.

"We are extremely pleased that the Minviro LCA has confirmed what we have believed to be the case for a long time - Cinovec has the potential to have the lowest overall environmental impacts compared to other conventional lithium battery metals projects not only in Europe but also on a global basis,” said European Metals executive chairman Keith Coughlan.

“With the use of solar power and other optimisations the Cinovec Project will set a standard by which all other conventional lithium producers could be judged,” Coughlan added and expressed expectations that environmental credentials will help make the project’s product valuable to end-users.

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