Another lithium processing plant is being built in Saudi Arabia. This is being built as part of a joint venture between the Australian mining company European Lithium and the Saudi industrial group Obeikan Group.
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The US mineral oil company ExxonMobil is apparently getting involved in lithium mining. According to information from US media outlets, the oil giant has acquired drilling rights for an area in the US state of Arkansas where large lithium deposits are suspected.
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Ford is procuring lithium on a large scale for the batteries for its electric cars. The carmaker now signed agreements with five companies. Depending on the supplier, the first battery-grade materials will be delivered to the carmaker between 2025 and 2026.
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Negotiations between the US and the EU on the planned agreement on the critical minerals for EVs are taking longer than expected. It would give European carmakers access to tax credits in the US.
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South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution (LGES) is investing in Australian-based lithium miner Green Technology Metals (GT1) and has signed a preliminary supply agreement with GT1 for North America.
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Lithium companies Livent and Allkem are merging in a US$10.6 billion stock deal to create the world’s third-largest producer of lithium chemicals by volume.
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General Motors-backed Canadian battery recycler Lithion is building its first commercial critical minerals recovery facility in St-Bruno-de-Montarville, near Montreal, with plans to start operations this autumn.
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Mining company Glencore and battery recycling specialist Li-Cycle have announced plans to build Europe’s largest battery recycling plant on the Italian island of Sardinia. A final decision will be made next year.
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Tesla has officially begun construction of its own lithium refinery in Texas and plans to complete it next year. By 2025, Tesla plans to produce enough battery-grade lithium hydroxide for one million electric cars at the site near Corpus Christi.
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The American speciality chemicals company Albemarle has announced a doubling of the production capacity of its Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant in Western Australia. Instead of 50,000 tonnes per year, the plant will be able to produce 100,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide at full capacity.
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BYD is planning to build a battery material factory in Chile. That is according to the Chilean economic development agency CORFO. The South American country wants to put the lithium industry under state control – but BYD, among others, could be given preferential treatment.
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A new EU project called METALLICO is looking into how battery metals such as lithium, cobalt, copper, manganese, and nickel can be extracted in a sustainable way from primary and secondary raw material sources. The project includes 23 partners from nine countries.
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The budding US lithium miner Energy Exploration Technologies has raised US$50 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by General Motors. The two sides have also agreed to cooperate on other levels.
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The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has developed a recycling process for batteries in which up to 70 per cent of the lithium can be recovered. And it does so without the use of corrosive chemicals, high temperatures or the need for prior sorting of the materials.
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The USA and Japan have signed a trade agreement on minerals for electric vehicle batteries. This will allow Japanese car manufacturers broader access to the US market and subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act.
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The North American battery recycler Li-Cycle is cooperating with the industrial truck manufacturer Kion Group. Under the agreement, which runs until 2030, Li-Cycle will recycle batteries from Kion’s global brands starting in the second half of 2023.
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Rock Tech Lithium has broken ground for its lithium plant in Guben, Brandenburg. The German-Canadian raw materials company is building a converter plant there to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide for use in electromobility.
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After the US and the EU announced in mid-March that they wanted to negotiate an agreement on critical minerals for electric car batteries, the US government now submitted a concept paper for a transatlantic raw materials partnership to the EU Commission.
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US battery recycler Cirba Solutions is investing $300 mn in a new recycling factory in South Carolina. The company, which counts GM among its customers, plans to start construction near Columbia in Richland County this year and begin operations by the end of 2024.
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US speciality chemicals company Albemarle has announced the location of its new lithium processing plant in the US. The plant will be built in Chester County, South Carolina. Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of 2024.
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When it comes to extracting lithium for EV batteries from geothermal brine, Vulcan Energy Resources is getting competition from France. Lithium de France, a company founded in October 2020 and based in Bischwiller, Alsace, has announced the closing of a €44 million Series B financing round.
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Ascend Elements will supply Koura with up to 5,000 tonnes of recycled lithium carbonate per year. Koura will use the recycled lithium carbonate in lithium-ion battery materials for the US and European markets, including lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), a key electrolyte salt.
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Electra Battery Materials Corporation has successfully recovered lithium in its black mass recycling trial being conducted at its refinery north of Toronto.
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Mercedes-Benz has agreed to cooperate with CATL subsidiary Brunp in China to recycle electric car batteries. Brunp says it already works with Volvo, BMW, FAW-Volkswagen and GAC-Toyota, among others, in the area of battery recycling.
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Rock Tech Lithium has made another step towards opening its plant in Germany as it obtained the first partial license for its lithium hydroxide conversion plant in Guben (the “Guben Converter”). The official groundbreaking is planned for 27 March.
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Mexico will soon be home to a new Tesla Gigafactory. The carmaker confirmed the location to build its “next-gen vehicle” at yesterday’s Investor Day at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Texas. CEO Elon Musk also gave some details about his ‘Master Plan 3’, which focuses on a renewable energy future – but much of it remains unclear.
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The German electric vehicle manufacturer Next.e.GO Mobile has agreed on a cooperation with the raw materials trader Trafigura. Under the agreement, Trafigura will supply 100 per cent of e.Go’s future aluminium needs, as well as battery raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and copper.
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Battery recycling company Li-Cycle has received a conditional commitment from the US Department of Energy for a 375 million dollar loan. The money will be used for the Canadian company’s first US facility in Rochester, New York, USA.
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BASF has agreed on a long-term cooperation with the Israeli company Tenova Advanced Technologies (TAT) for its prototype plant for battery recycling in Schwarzheide, Brandenburg. Together, the two companies want to optimise the hydrometallurgical recycling process.
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The EU-funded project LiCORNE (Lithium Recovery and Battery Grade Materials Production from European Resources) aims to set up the first complete European supply chain for lithium processing resources available in Europe.
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