Group is hunting for lithium assets in the country with aim of assembling an integrated supply chain.
Chinese electric-car maker BYD has held talks about a potential takeover of a lithium producer in Brazil, in the global rush to secure raw materials for the EV revolution. BYDs chair in the South American nation, Alexandre Baldy, said discussions had taken place with $2.9bn-valued Sigma Lithium over a possible supply agreement, joint venture or acquisition.
Sigma began shipping the silvery-white metal — a key element for EV batteries — from its hard rock mine and processing plant in the state of Minas Gerais last year. BYD is backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and recently overtook Tesla as the world’s largest EV manufacturer. It is building its first electric car factory outside Asia in Brazil as part of a R$3bn ($620mn) investment. As BYD hunts for lithium assets in the country with the goal of assembling an integrated supply chain, Baldy said there was an “active” dialogue with Sigma, which is listed in Toronto and on Nasdaq.
“Different strands are being discussed about supply, a joint venture, an acquisition . . . nothing is concrete,” he added. Baldy said BYD had met Sigma’s chief executive Ana Cabral Gardner in São Paulo last month, but declined to give more details about the talks, citing a confidentiality agreement. Sigma declined to comment. BYD’s plans in Brazil comes as Chinese EV and renewable energy companies aim to rapidly expand overseas. The Shenzhen-based manufacturer is also planning to build an EV factory in Hungary and has been in talks for a plant in Mexico.
A number of big carmakers have struck direct deals with miners to guarantee supplies of lithium, which will be vital for the decarbonisation of the world’s vehicle fleets.
Brazilian media outlet Exame reported that Volkswagen and Chinese battery maker CATL were bidders. VW said: “When it comes to raw materials, we are exploring the market and talking to many potential partners in different regions of the world,” adding it would not comment on “market rumours”. The top lithium-producing nations in 2022 were Australia, Chile, China and Argentina, followed by Brazil, according to Statista.
中国电动汽车制造商比亚迪（BYD）就可能收购巴西的一家锂生产商进行了谈判，在这个电动汽车革命中，全球都在争先恐后地获得原材料。 比亚迪在南美区主席亚历山大·巴尔迪（Alexandre Baldy）表示，已经与市值29亿美元的Sigma Lithium就可能的供应协议、合资企业或收购进行了讨论。
Sigma去年开始从其位于米纳斯吉拉斯州的硬岩矿山和加工厂运送电动汽车电池的关键金属。 比亚迪得到了沃伦·巴菲特（Warren Buffett）的伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司（Berkshire Hathaway）的支持，最近超过特斯拉成为全球最大的电动汽车制造商。作为30亿雷亚尔（6.2亿美元）投资的一部分，它正在巴西创建其亚洲以外的第一家电动汽车工厂。 随着比亚迪在该国寻找锂资产，目标是创建一个综合供应链，Baldy表示，与在多伦多和纳斯达克上市的Sigma进行了“积极”的对话。
“关于供应、合资企业、收购等不同方面正在讨论中。没有什么是已经确定了的，“他补充说。Baldy表示，比亚迪上个月在圣保罗会见了Sigma首席执行官Ana Cabral Gardner，但以保密协议为由拒绝提供有关谈判的更多细节。Sigma拒绝置评。 比亚迪在巴西的计划正值中国电动汽车和可再生能源公司计划迅速向海外扩张之际。 这家总部位于深圳的制造商还计划在匈牙利创建一家电动汽车工厂，并一直在就墨西哥的一家工厂进行谈判。
许多大型汽车制造商已经与矿商达成了直接协议，以保证锂的供应，这对全球车队的脱碳至关重要。
巴西媒体Exome报道称，大众汽车和中国电池制造商宁德时代是竞标者。大众表示：“在原材料方面，我们正在探索市场，并与世界不同地区的许多潜在合作伙伴进行谈判，”并补充说，它不会对“市场谣言”发表评论。根据 Statista 的数据，2022 年最大的锂生产国是澳大利亚、智利、中国和阿根廷，其次是巴西。
