Critical materials & industrial sovereignty: Bpifrance Assurance Export mobilized to strengthen French and European sovereignty

Bpifrance Assurance Export is mobilizing to support French and European sovereignty in critical materials, through the granting of a Strategic Projects Guarantee (GPS) to the Vulcan Energy group for its "Lionheart" project, dedicated to the production of geothermal lithium in Germany.

Vulcan Energy announced last week the financial close of a financing totaling 2,2 billion euros for this landmark project.

An innovative project at the heart of the energy transition

The Lionheart project aims to produce battery-grade lithium from geothermal brines by combining three integrated activities:

• direct lithium extraction,
• renewable electricity production,
• the supply of heat.

This integrated approach maximizes the use of geothermal resources and significantly reduces the carbon footprint of lithium production.

Phase 1 of the project, located in Landau and Frankfurt-Höchst (Germany), plans an annual production capacity of 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate. This represents the equivalent of the needs for approximately 500,000 electric vehicle batteries per year.

Secondary outputs generated through the same industrial process

Beyond lithium, the project also generates energy co-products, that is to say, secondary productions that are valorized from the same industrial process.

In the case of the Lionheart project, geothermal energy thus makes it possible to produce:

• 275 GWh of renewable electricity per year, injected into the grid or consumed locally;
• 560 GWh of heat per year, intended for residents, communities and local industries.

This simultaneous valorization of several resources helps to strengthen the economic and environmental efficiency of the project, while delivering tangible benefits to local communities and industries.

The project is scheduled to be operational by 2028. In addition, nearly 90% of production is already secured for the next ten years with European manufacturers in the battery value chain, including the car manufacturer Stellantis, the market leader in the French automotive industry.

The key role of the Strategic Projects Guarantee

Bpifrance Assurance Export, acting on behalf of, for, and under the control of the French State, is participating in the financing of this structuring project through a Strategic Projects Guarantee (GPS) amounting to 312,5 million euros.

The GPS is a public mechanism designed to facilitate the financing of projects with a strong strategic importance for the French and European economy, including internationally.

The scheme helps:

• secure lenders by covering the risk of non-reimbursement ;
• mobilize public and private financing for complex and innovative projects;
• support initiatives contributing to industrial, energy and economic sovereignty, particularly in critical sectors such as raw materials.

In the case of Lionheart, GPS directly contributes to securing access to lithium, an essential resource for the production of electric batteries, at the heart of the challenges of energy transition and decarbonization of mobility.

“Bpifrance Assurance Export’s participation in financing the Lionheart project fully illustrates the purpose of the Strategic Project Guarantee: to support projects essential to the economic, industrial, and energy sovereignty of France and Europe. By helping to secure access to lithium, we are reaffirming our support for the development of a strong French electric battery sector,” he said. Denis Le Fers, Managing Director of Bpifrance Assurance Export.

An international mobilization in the service of European sovereignty

Alongside the European Investment Bank (EIB) and its counterparts SACE (Italy), EDC (Canada), EIFO (Denmark) and EFA (Australia), Bpifrance Assurance Export is part of a strong international cooperation dynamic.

This operation illustrates the joint mobilization of export credit agencies (ECAs) in support of:

• securing supply chains for critical raw materials,
• the development of a competitive European battery industry,
• and more broadly, European industrial sovereignty.

This confidence is also reflected in the words of Vulcan Energy, which highlighted the role played by all financial partners involved in the project:

Felicity Gooding, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Vulcan Energy GroupHe added: "The successful financial closing reflects the strong confidence of our financial partners, including Bpifrance Assurance Export, both in the robustness of our integrated lithium-renewable energy model and in our ability to provide a strategic supply for Europe."