Russia plans to establish domestic lithium-ion battery production after capturing one of the largest Ukrainian lithium deposits
Russian state corporation Rosatom has announced its intention to fully localize the production of lithium-ion batteries within Russia by the year 2030. This ambitious announcement followed Russia's capture of the Shevchenko settlement in Ukraine's Donetsk region, home to one of Ukraine's largest lithium deposits. Despite the ongoing conflict, Russia continues to import lithium from Chile.
Rosatom aims to achieve complete localization through two "gigafactories" situated in Russia: one in Kaliningrad Oblast (Neman) and the other within Moscow's boundaries (Krasnaya Pakhra in the Troitsky Administrative Okrug). This information was shared by Anastasia Mikhailova, CEO of Renera, a battery producer under Rosatom, during the "Innoprom-2025" forum.
This announcement comes merely weeks after international media, including Le Figaro, reported that Russian forces had established control over Shevchenko village and its nearby lithium deposit. The Shevchenko lithium site, discovered in the 1980s, is considered one of the most promising for development in Ukraine. According to Ukraine's State Geological and Subsoil Service, the local rocks contain lithium oxide at a concentration of 1.24%. For comparison, major deposits in Australia, where lithium is also extracted from minerals, have concentrations ranging from 1% to 3%.
Ukraine's lithium wealth includes four major deposits, two of which remain under Kyiv's control in the country's west. However, Shevchenko and Krutaya Balka, near the Sea of Azov, are now under Russian control.
Interestingly, Russian authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic reported gaining control over the Shevchenko lithium deposit as early as January this year. Despite this assertion, clashes persisted around the area throughout January, February, and into the spring of 2025.
Russia does not domestically mine lithium. Prior to the conflict, Chile and Argentina were primary suppliers of lithium carbonate to Russia. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade announced that it would no longer receive lithium from these countries, despite them not imposing sanctions on Russia. Indeed, customs data for 2022-2023 show the absence of such imports.
Nonetheless, imports from Chile persisted, indirectly, with documentation originally labeling some Chilean lithium as exports from Belgium. In 2022-2023, Belgium emerged as the leading lithium supplier to Russia, despite not being a producer itself.
Two Belgian companies - SQM Europe N.V. and Umicore - handled shipments of lithium carbonate, later refined into pure metal or compounds. SQM Europe N.V. is linked to Chile's largest lithium producer, Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM). Umicore is a major Belgian chemical and metallurgical company. The Insider reached out to both firms for comment but has not yet received a response.
Customs data identifies Chilean companies Albemarle Limitada and SQM, alongside America's FMC Lithium, as the leading producers of lithium, holding a near-monopoly in its extraction and production market. SQM has stated that it adheres to "all international trade embargoes and sanctions" in response to inquiries from The Insider.