EMILI : Beauvoir Lithium Mining Project

image slider - lithium en Europe

Supporting the energy transition 

Imerys has launched a lithium mining project at its Beauvoir site in Echassières (Allier, France). This project contributes to to the dual challenge of the energy transition and Europe’s economic independence. It will contribute to creating an integrated European battery industry for electric vehicles by offering a local solution for one of the most critical materials required, lithium.

EMILI (Exploitation de MIca Lithinifère par Imerys) is one of the largest lithium extraction projects in Europe, which would offer a long-term solution and meet Europe's decarbonization goals.

Imerys intends to design this project in an environmentally -friendly manner, in consultation with all stakeholders, and aligning with the IRMA benchmark, the international reference certification for responsible mining.

Key figures

Exploitation du kaolin à Beauvoir
Middle of the 19th century
Start of kaolin mining at the Beauvoir site
Entrée en production du lithium
2028
Planned entry into production of the site
Véhicules électriques
700 000
Electric vehicles equipped each year thanks to the production of lithium in Beauvoir

Featured

EMILI&VOUS - NL

EMILI & YOU

The EMILI lithium mine project in Allier is progressing! Follow its development through our EMILI & YOU Newsletter.

Beauvoir PR - 24/10/22

Launch of the EMILI project with the support of the French Government

On the 24th of October, Imerys announced the intention to extract lithium from Beauvoir’s site.

image slider - lithium en Europe

Lithium and economic independance

Lithium extraction in Beauvoir will help reduce Europe's dependence on imported lithium.

Lithium et transition énergétique

Lithium and the energy transition

In a few years, lithium, widely used in manufacturing batteries for the automotive industry, has become an indispensable strategic raw material to meet the challenge of the energy transition.

Homepage Slider - Campagne de sondages de Lithium menés à la carrière de Beauvoir, en 2022

Project milestones

Discover our project schedule until the year of 2028.

Homepage Slider - Vue aérienne Beauvoir

History of kaolin at Beauvoir

Discover the history of Beauvoir from XIX century to the present day.

I congratulate Imerys on launching the first low-carbon lithium operation in France. This project, which is exemplary from an environmental and climate perspective, will significantly reduce our need to import lithium and enable us to produce nearly 700,000 electric vehicle batteries per year. It will contribute to the objective set by the President of the Republic to produce 2 million electric vehicles in France by 2030 and will be supported by the Government.

Bruno Le Maire
Minister of Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty
Hero banner - Beauvoir_0391
Any questions about the EMILI project?