“Galp has decided not to proceed with the construction of the Aurora project,” said the group.

“Initially a 50/50 partnership between Galp and Northvolt, the latter communicated to Galp at the beginning of 2024 its decision to stop investing in Aurora”.

Since then, “Galp has sought to identify new international partners, but without success”, they said, recalling that “Aurora has been working since 2021 to establish a lithium conversion factory in Setúbal, with the aim of supplying the battery industry, taking advantage of Portugal’s lithium reserves”.

According to Galp, “despite significant efforts, which included assembling a qualified team, carrying out engineering studies, preparing licensing processes and seeking incentives and financing, the current context and the impossibility of counting on an international partner make the project unfeasible.

On October 28, Galp's chief executive officer (CEO) stated that the company would not rush into a final investment decision on building a lithium refinery in Portugal until it had guarantees of an "adequate return" for the project.

"We are in the final stages of engineering details and discussing incentives. A lot of work has been done and is still ongoing. But, I must say that the market is currently very challenging and we are in no rush to make a final investment decision until we see an adequate return for the project, and we don't think we're at that point at the moment", said Filipe Silva.

Northvolt announced on November 22 that it had filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States of America, noting that it is keeping the Swedish factory operating.