Tesla Kickstarts $375M Lithium Plant near Corpus Christi

For Texans, Tesla is the gift that keeps on giving. Tesla already has a multi-billion dollar plant in Austin and now, construction is underway on the electric automaker’s proposed $375 million lithium refinery near Corpus Christi.

According to the Corpus Christi Caller, Tesla’s Drew Baglino said they are not wasting any time getting it up and going, “This is a good example of something where we’re basically talking about breaking ground and starting commissioning within 10 months with actual production in 12 months.”

The facility will package and ship battery-grade lithium hydroxide, a key component for the batteries in Tesla’s EV fleet and products.

The 50 gigawatt-hour-per-year refinery will be near the Port of Corpus Christi and will have connectivity to railroads.

Up to 250 temporary jobs will be created during the next two years, and the operation of the plant would create a total of 162 permanent jobs.