Canada-based Rock Tech Lithium received a binding letter of intent (LOI) signed by the Minister for Economic Affairs in Brandenburg, Joerg Steinbach, for the grant of up to €90 million in subsidies for the Guben Project.

In addition, the company announced that its application for federal funding from the German Railway Authority is progressing well and is expected to lead to a contribution of another €10 million in grants. This funding is expected to be provided under the “Anschlussbahnförderung” and will support the company’s ambition to shift transports from road to rail, a crucial component of the project’s logistics concept.

These subsidies are a major milestone for us and a big step towards the realization of the Guben Converter. Together with the possible federal guarantees, we are targeting governmental financial support of up to 500 million Euros. In addition to these substantial subsidies, we have signed a binding feedstock agreement with a leading lithium trading house, C&D Logistics Group, for the procurement of raw material for our converters and received the full construction and operations permit approvals for Guben. I am very confident that we will finalize the remaining financing steps for Guben in the coming months.

—Rock Tech’s CEO Dirk Harbecke

The LOI confirms that after diligent vetting of the project by the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (Investment Bank of the State of Brandenburg, ILB) the state will grant funding to Rock Tech, provided that the company achieves full financing for the Guben project. The subsidies will be provided as part of the GRW funding scheme using the federal regulation “Transformation Technologies”.

This underlines the significance of Rock Tech’s project not only for Germany, but also for the battery cluster in Brandenburg. Signing and closing of the grant notice is expected in Q4. The payout of subsidies will occur over the construction period. In addition, Rock Tech is progressing the application process for a federal guarantee to cover 80% of debt financing—a decision is expected in the course of 2024.

Rock Tech intends to build and operate Europe’s first Lithium Converter with a capacity of 24,000 tonnes of Lithium-Hydroxide-Monohydrate per year. The refinery will be built in Guben, Germany and requires financing of approximately €800 million.