Stellantis, Vulcan to develop geothermal energy for German car plant

Automaker Stellantis NV (BIT:STLA) and Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX:VUL) will seek to develop geothermal energy assets to decarbonise Stellantis’ Ruesselsheim site in Germany, where the DS4 and Opel Astra are made, the two said on Tuesday.

In the first phase of the project, Vulcan will conduct a pre-feasibility study, which would be potentially followed by drilling and more advanced studies and development.

The project is located at the northernmost extent of Vulcan’s focus area in the Upper Rhine Valley and is assumed to be able to provide a significant part of the site’s annual energy requirements from 2025.

Stellantis is Vulcan’s largest lithium customer and a major shareholder of the company. “While we remain focused on our geothermal-lithium developments in the center of the Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field, this project is a complementary opportunity to expand our development pipeline to some of the outer lying areas in the Upper Rhine Valley, supported by industrial partners like Stellantis,” explained Vulcan managing director and chief executive Francis Wedin.

Stellantis and Vulcan are looking to produce clean power to be supplied to the grid for both internal and external consumption, as well as heat to be delivered to the manufacturing site.

The project supports Stellantis’ target of becoming carbon net zero by 2038.

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