Having management briefly mentioned in their 2010 financial results that SolarWorld would be looking at solar battery power technology offerings in the future, the company has announced plans to start prospecting for lithium on its doorstep in Saxony, Germany. SolarWorld said it had received official approval from the Saxon State Minister for Economic Affairs to start prospecting in the Eastern part of the Erzgebirge Mountains.
In cooperation with the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology (TUBAF), SolarWorld intents to investigate the deposits found within the next few months as the university also performs research into new technologies for lithium-ion batteries.
The Saxony-located lithium deposits were claimed to be among the ten largest lithium deposits in the world. The alkali metal lithium is used as an anode in the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that are needed for electric cars, laptops and solar batteries.
“With the approval of our prospecting activities in the Eastern part of the Erzgebirge mountains, we have taken the first step towards securing the raw material for the solar power storage of tomorrow,” explains Dr.-Ing. E.h. Frank Asbeck. “In a manner of speaking, we are expanding solar value creation in Germany because in lithium batteries final consumers will in future store their home-made solar power for self-consumption. This will make them more independent of the rising prices of utilities.”
It is therefore not out of the question that SolarWorld could be planning to become a lithium battery manufacturer for solar applications, adding another downstream segment to the integrated PV business model.
