Lucid Group (LCID, Financial), a prominent U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer, has announced the formation of a strategic alliance with key mineral producers to enhance the domestic development and procurement of critical minerals for the automotive industry. This initiative, named the Minerals for National Automotive Competitiveness Collaboration (MINAC), includes partners such as Alaska Energy Metals, Graphite One, Electra Battery Materials, and RecycLiCo.
The alliance aims to advance domestic mineral production through purchase agreements, address commercialization challenges, strengthen collaboration between the mining and automotive sectors, and support U.S. automakers and suppliers in certifying and procuring domestic materials. This initiative comes at a time when the automotive industry, particularly the electric vehicle sector, faces increasing pressure to ensure the ethical and reliable sourcing of essential minerals like rare earths, nickel, graphite, and manganese, which are crucial for lithium-ion batteries.
Participating companies bring specialized expertise: Alaska Energy Metals is developing a major nickel project in Alaska, while Electra Battery Materials focuses on the Emily manganese project in Minnesota. Graphite One is building graphite production facilities in Ohio and northern Alaska, and RecycLiCo specializes in hydrometallurgical technology to process ores and recycle lithium-ion battery materials.
Lucid and its partners hosted a roundtable in Washington, D.C., with key political figures to discuss the alliance's impact on strengthening supply chains and creating domestic jobs.
