Iran is planning to expand its home-grown infrastructure for production of lithium batteries to respond to the electrification needs in its automotive sector, according to a senior official in the country’s defense ministry.

According to The Iran Project, Reza Shojaei, who serves as a deputy head at the Iranian defense ministry’s department for energy resources, said on Tuesday that Iran has the technology needed to design and manufacture lithium batteries that are used in electric vehicles.

Shojaei said that production of lithium batteries in Iran will scale up once more electric cars are on the roads in the country.

“A number of companies have kicked off work on lithium battery cells and maybe they can introduce commercial products in the next two years,” he said.

The official said brine lakes in Iran are abundant sources of lithium carbonate which is the main ingredient in production of lithium batteries.

“But the main issue is the consumption market which will cause an increase in production of batteries once it is properly formed,” said Shojaei who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an international forum on lithium batteries in Tehran.

During the forum, defense ministry authorities said they have plans to commercialize electric vehicle battery production in Iran by expanding research centers and laboratories and by investing in lithium mining projects.

Iran has major plans to electrify its transport system both via imports of electric cars and by relying on domestic manufacturing.

The country has been expanding its charging stations network to allow an speedier introduction of electric transport.