The medieval town of Cáceres is a UN World Heritage gem where production crews this month started shooting a prequel to Game of Thrones. Less than 3km away, foreign investors want to create one of Europe’s largest lithium mines.
The proposed project, so close to one of the jewels of Spain’s past, has set off ferocious local opposition. It highlights the challenges to the country’s plans to use unprecedented EU funding to develop a whole industry around lithium — the main input for batteries to power electric vehicles and for large-scale energy storage.
Development of this next generation technology is a priority across Europe at a time when carmakers face ferocious competition from manufacturers in China and elsewhere — and when China also controls most global stocks of lithium.