Germany-based car manufacturer the BMW Group has joined the Responsible Lithium Partnership project, an initiative to enable responsible management of natural resources in the Salar de Atacama salt flat in Chile. 

The Partnership is being coordinated by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) to develop a joint vision for the future of the water catchment areas of the Salar de Atacama.

A further aim is to develop a joint action plan to improve the long-term management of natural resources and implement steps.

As well as the BMW Group, other members of the Responsible Lithium Partnership include German chemicals company BASF, Mercedes-Benz Group, Daimler Truck, Fairphone and the Volkswagen Group.

The company said it would share scientific findings on the impact of lithium mining on water resources in the Salar de Atacama. This follows a study it ran with BASF in 2020 to examine the effects of lithium mining on water balances.

The study aims to gain a better scientific understanding of the interdependencies between freshwater and lithium brine layers, evaluate various technologies and acquire to assess sustainable lithium mining, the company said.

The news follows a previous announcement from the BMW Group in October 2021 when it said it would invest in US start-up Lilac Solutions to promote resource-efficient extraction of lithium in its bid to make electric vehicles account for 50% of global sales by 2030.