“Krusik-akumulatori” from Valjevo won’t give up on lithium factory. They say that state shouldn’t allow the export of this metal like a mineral material but it should be processed by domestic industry.
Valjevo should get a factory for lithium batteries’ production thirty years ago. “Krusik akumulatori” and French “Saft” have signed investment contract and this investment didn’t happened because of political decisions on local and national plan.
Valjevska Kamenica is one of the seven locations where Canadian Company “Ultra-lithium” will search for the rare mineral of future. 15 million cars yearly will be powered by lithium only in Germany. This lithium can stem exact from Kamenica.
While one average citizen of Kamenica still does not understand how important lithium is to the future of humanity, it was well-known in “Krusik-akumulatori” 30 years ago.
They arranged the factory of lithium batteries in Valjevo or Lajkovac with French “Saft” 1985. Investment that had provided assets and it went down the drain 5 years later.
“The decision of administration of SOUR Krusik and city authorities that assets provided for factory of lithium batteries should transfer to completing the “Grand” Hotel is the one reason and the second one is changed attitude of SSNO that factory should be constructed in Gnjilane, not in Valjevo”, Director of “Krusik-akumulatori” at the time, Vladimir Urosevic, said.
However, “Krusik-akumulatori” doesn’t give up the lithium factory. State approved them the Project for winning the lithium-ionic batteries and fuel cells before geological research. 12 our science-research institutions were engaged.
“We can say that we are ready to give instructions how to direct chemicals based on lithium gained from mines to such products that would be useful for lithium-ionic accumulators”, Director of the Project, Prof Dr Slavko Mentus, said.
The President of “Krusik-akumulatori”, Zivota Cosic, says that they count on fundamental research completion in 2014 so we can estimate how it goes.
“We would sit to talk with big producers of lithium-ionic batteries then in order to find out what kind of equipment we should get, according to the results, and to run production”, Cosic said.
State cannot let lithium as mineral material to be exported from Serbia- it is said in “Krusik-akumulatori”, the only factory of nickel-cadmium batteries in South East Europe. This job will be profitable only of mineral is processed by domestic industry or “Krucik-akumulatori” will have to import domestic mineral.
Source RTS/Serbia Energy
