Tesla held a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday at its new $375 million lithium refinery near Corpus Christi.
The facility, located in Robstown, will create battery-grade lithium hydroxide, and the facility is being hailed as the first of its kind in North America, according to KIIITV.
CEO Elon Musk said, “We are going to begin construction immediately. We’re aiming to finish construction next year and then reach, hopefully, full production about a year later, which is extremely fast by normal standards, but that’s how we do things.”
Musk added that Tesla’s goal is to produce battery-grade lithium at the refinery that will be used to create one million vehicles per year. The refinery will produce more lithium than the rest of North America combined, according to CNBC.
The Tesla CEO affirmed that the new facility would be environmentally friendly, claiming, “There’s no toxic emissions or anything–you could live right in the middle of the refinery and not suffer any ill effects,” CNBC reported.
Governor Greg Abbott was present at the groundbreaking ceremony, where he touted Elon Musk’s investments in Texas and presented him with an award of gratitude.
“There is no greater entrepreneur in the entire world than Elon Musk. We are proud that he calls Texas home,” Abbott said.
Abbott stressed the importance of refining lithium in the U.S., as China is a major source of lithium, and supply chain disruptions could have a harmful effect on the state’s economy.
“That’s why part of our strategy is for the state of Texas to be involved in producing more lithium, refining more lithium so that we will be the source point of the lithium that we need and that our businesses need to keep Texas flourishing,” he said, according to Teslarati.
“Securing Texas’ own lithium refining production will power our future for generations to come,” Abbott tweeted.
The refinery sits on a 1,200+ acre site and represents an investment of more than $1 billion in Southwest Texas, Tesla said on its website.
The company said the construction of the refinery will create 1,000 jobs, and 250 full-time employees will work at the refinery.
“(The site) will be the location of the first industrial deployment of an acid-free lithium refining route,” the company explained. “This process eliminates the use of hazardous reagents and byproducts in favor of more inert options. The byproduct from this facility, a mixture of sand and limestone, is useful in the production of construction materials, making beneficial use of traditional waste streams.”