Peru wants to produce lithium batteries domestically, joining other Latin American countries to industrialize the ultra-light metal resources needed for electric vehicles, a government official said on Wednesday.

“We have started to take action to see if we can develop the battery industry, "Jaime Chavez, Peru's deputy mining minister, told the Peruvian Mining Congress.

Peru is the world's second-largest copper producer and an attractive destination for global mining companies. It has some lithium deposits in the southern Puno region, which are currently being explored by American Lithium companies.

But these deposits are much smaller than those in the so-called lithium Triangle region, which comprises Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.

As part of the transition from internal combustion engines, batteries made of the ultra-light metal lithium are key to meeting the growing demand for electric vehicles. "We have a lot of reserves that we see as both an opportunity and a challenge to do (lithium) extraction and value-added production," Chavez said.

To be sure, Peru does not currently produce lithium, nor does any country in Latin America produce lithium batteries on a commercial scale, even if they mine lithium.

Chile and Argentina are the world's second and fourth largest producers of unrefined lithium, respectively. Bolivia has the world's largest lithium resources, but has struggled for years to extract them on a commercial scale.

Mexico nationalized its lithium resources earlier this year and announced the creation of a state-owned lithium mining company, but has yet to start producing lithium. Lithium battery production is currently dominated by China.