Czech utility ČEZ updates lithium-use study; clearer picture may emerge by year-end

Energy group ČEZ is currently updating a feasibility study, on the basis of which it will decide whether to exploit lithium reserves on an industrial scale. The update is primarily assessing the impact of relocating the lithium-processing plant, which under current plans could be built next to the power station in Prunéřov, near Kadaň in the Chomutov District. The company could have more detailed results by the end of the year. ČEZ CFO Martin Novák told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) in an interview today.

„No decision has been made yet. We need to analyse whether the whole process makes economic sense for us,“ Novák said when asked about the decision on lithium extraction.

In the spring, ČEZ decided that if lithium is extracted, the processing plant would be built next to the power station in Prunéřov. It thus abandoned the originally shortlisted site in the Teplice District, which had been opposed by residents and mayors. People were concerned about the impact of a plant proposed for the industrial zone in Újezdeček, near which there are family homes. Under the new proposal, only a covered transshipment facility would be built in Újezdeček, from where the ore would be transported by rail to Prunéřov.

ČEZ is now updating the feasibility study, whose results are expected to determine whether it proceeds with lithium, precisely because of the plant’s relocation. „This means moving almost half of the technology to a new site. A geological survey and other related work are therefore needed,“ ČEZ spokesperson Roman Gazdík noted.

ČEZ is also considering other potential uses for the land in Prunéřov. Even if a lithium-processing plant is built there, there will still be enough space for other uses, such as a gigafactory or large-scale solar projects, Novák said. He acknowledged in this connection that the company is in talks with potential partners, but so far without any concrete results.

Lithium extraction is being prepared by Geomet, in which Severočeské doly, a member of the ČEZ Group, holds a majority stake. The company wants to extract lithium-bearing ore from an underground mine at Cínovec in the Ore Mountains. Extraction is expected to begin between 2026 and 2028.

Lithium is considered a metal of the future. Estimates suggest that around three per cent of the world’s reserves are in Czechia – the vast majority at Cínovec and a small amount in the Slavkov Forest. The deposit near Cínovec is the largest in Europe. The possibility of lithium extraction in Czechia became one of the topics debated ahead of the 2017 parliamentary elections.