Image: @JoeTegtmeyer/X
The Tesla Lithium Refinery Plant near Corpus Christi, Texas is starting to take shape. Photos from the site show progress in construction. Parts of the site have already been prepared; the equipment is in place and the initial construction has already begun.
Tesla is a big boon for Texas, USA. The company is creating thousands of jobs and will create more by building and operating a new lithium plant near Corpus Christi. @JoeTegtmeyer/X recently visited the site and flew around with his drone. Pictures published by him on X show progress. Most of the site is largely prepared for construction. You can see heavy machinery working there, as well as specific equipment. The site has a large tent. In addition, it can be seen that the construction of the facility has begun. In general, the site looks quite lively.
Here are some images form my recent trip to the Tesla Lithium Refinery Plant near Corpus Christi, Texas!
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) August 28, 2023
Much more to see in my full video coming up later today with views you will not see anywhere else! pic.twitter.com/yK2ABM5krF
On May 8, Tesla held a groundbreaking ceremony for its lithium refinery plant. It is located in Robstown near Corpus Christi, Texas, USA. It was attended by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other company executives, as well as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other local, state, and federal leaders, welcoming the founding of the enterprise. Tesla plans to invest $375 million to build the factory. When completed, the facility will represent a $1 billion investment in southwest Texas.
These investments are critical to Tesla's mission to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. The company aims to significantly increase the supply of lithium hydroxide, which is critical for battery production. Tesla is also looking to source its lithium from North America, so as not to depend on foreign suppliers.
The 1,200-plus-acre location will be the site of the first industrial deployment of acid-free lithium refining. In the process of achieving this, the use of hazardous reagents that pollute the environment is eliminated. In addition, there are no byproducts that are not useful. As a result of Tesla's new method of lithium extraction, the byproducts will be a mixture of sand and limestone. Both are used in the production of building materials, which means they can be used efficiently.
“There's no toxic emissions or anything -- you could live right in the middle of the refinery and not suffer any ill effects,” Elon Musk said during the event.
“This facility will also prioritize the elimination of a challenging refinery byproduct (sodium sulfate). Instead, the byproduct is a mixture of sand & calcium carbonate-a viable additive in the production of construction materials, allowing us to make use of this waste stream. In the future, we will also process other intermediate lithium feedstocks, including those from recycled batteries & manufacturing scrap,” Tesla explained in a post in X.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts; follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
