As Tesla looks to secure a reliable supply of lithium for the batteries which power its electric vehicles, the company is examining building a lithium refinery on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Texas filed an application with the Texas Comptroller’s Office on August 22, to build a battery-grade lithium hydroxide refining facility to process, refine and manufacture battery materials.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously said he felt the company might have to enter the mining and refining industry at scale in order to secure its supply of the critical compounds as the prices surge and the supply is stretched thin throughout the electric vehicle industry.

If the company’s application is approved, construction on the facility could begin in the fourth quarter of 2022, and the first production would begin by the end of 2024.

According to the application, the final product from the refinery would be shipped by rail or by truck to Tesla battery manufacturing facilities for incorporation into the supply chain for large-scale production of electric vehicle batteries.

Tesla also notes it is examining a competing site in Louisiana for the project.

The company is likely responding to its first half performance which was crippled by supply chain issues, with Elon Musk at one point referring to some of his Gigafactories as money-burning-furnaces, as they were forced to sit idle due to supply chain issues bringing production to a halt.

As rivals emerge on the scene looking to steal market share, and as the company looks to compensate for its poor first-half production, a sufficient supply of lithium will prove critical.