German Ambassador to Serbia: Lithium Important and Needed

Anke Konrad (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC)

Germany’s Ambassador in Belgrade Anke Konrad said on July 5 that lithium is necessary for the green transition, so as to reduce the impact of transportation on the environment, and that, therefore, this resource “must be made available.”

“The importance of lithium is truly great,” she said, adding that the EU’s next project and the amount of lithium that can be produced by her country’s Upper Rhine lithium mine is comparable to Serbia’s lithium deposits. “This is very important to us because we need lithium,” Konrad told the latest edition of the Blic daily.

The ambassador went on to say that Germany has not only created market chains and seen contracts signed with automobile manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Renault but that the country also maintains the highest mining standards. Europe, however, cannot allow itself “to depend on a small number of sources, she said.

“The economic advantages [of lithium mining] are obvious and tied to the protection of the environment and of resources – as well as to adapting to climate change. Therefore, it is important to implement said standards [in Serbia] as well and, with regards to the environment, to include all actors,” Konrad explained.

The ambassador concluded by highlighting the importance of standards in creating market chains as well: from mining the ore, through battery production to the manufacturing of vehicles.