This was announced by the two groups.

The agreement, the latest made in Australia by the world's third-largest automaker by revenue, confirms the country as Stellantis' main supplier of key materials for the production of batteries needed for vehicle electrification.

The deal also comes at a time when Chile has announced plans to nationalize the vast lithium industry, another essential metal for batteries, leading electric vehicle (Ev) manufacturers to question the stability of future supplies and prices of battery materials.

Under the agreement announced today, Stellantis's binding offtake will amount to 170,000 tons of nickel sulfate and 12,000 tons of cobalt sulfate for an initial five-year period, accounting for about 40 percent of the NiWest Nickel-Cobalt Project's planned annual production.

The French-Italian group will also invest 9.2 million euros to obtain an 11.5 percent stake in Alliance Nickel. The funds raised from the share purchase will be used to finalize and launch the NiWest project.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the partnership with Alliance Nickel is an important element of the group's plans, which "are based on ensuring the supply of key materials for our electric vehicles."

Stellantis, formed in 2021 by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot Psa, has already reached agreements for battery materials with McEwen Copper, Terrafame, Vulcan Energy, Element 25, and Controlled Thermal Resources.

The automaker and Alliance Nickel had already signed a preliminary non-binding agreement in October last year to supply Ev battery materials.

(Giulio Piovaccari, translated by Chiara Bontacchio, editing Stefano Bernabei)