Battery Material

The US chemical company Albemarle has announced that it will temporarily close its lithium hydroxide plant in Kemerton, Western Australia. The remaining Train 1 production line will be transferred to “care and maintenance” status immediately. The company previously shut down the Train 2 production line in 2024 and halted expansion plans for lines 3 and 4. The Kemerton plant processes spodumene sourced from the Greenbushes mine. Albemarle holds a stake in the Greenbushes project through an Australian joint venture and half of the off-take rights. Albemarle cites ongoing market volatility and cost pressures as the reasons for the plant’s suspension. The company notes that recent price increases for lithium are insufficient to offset the economic challenges of hard rock processing in the West. This measure is intended to increase the company’s financial flexibility. However, the forecast sales volumes for 2026 remain unchanged. Albemarle plans to meet the demand for lithium hydroxide through other production sites. According to the announcement, mining activities in Australia will also remain unchanged. These include interests in the Greenbushes and Wodgina mines, as well as exploration projects in Western Australia. Source:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/albemarle-announces-plans-to-idle-its-kemerton-lithium-hydroxide-processing-plant-302685521.html

South Korean battery material manufacturer POSCO Future M is investing in the Massachusetts-based start-up company Factorial which specializes in solid-state batteries (SSB).

Portuguese company Lifthium Energy will be receiving 180 million euros in government funding to build a refinery for the production of battery-grade lithium.

Chinese battery manufacturer CATL is to be supplied with three million tons of LFP cathode material by Ronbay between 2026 and 2031. Meanwhile, the record contract value caused a stir.

US-based Cabot Corporation will supply Volkswagenʼs battery subsidiary PowerCo with conductive carbon products and dispersions for lithium-ion battery electrodes.

Battery material manufacturer POSCO Future M has entered into a joint venture with Chinaʼs CNGR and its South Korean subsidiary FINO for the production of LFP cathode materials.

South Korean battery material manufacturer L&F has revised the value of a supply contract with Tesla announced in 2023 from nearly three billion to just 7,386 US dollars.

Australian company Vulcan Energy Resources has secured total financing of around 2.2 billion euros for its Lionheart project to gain lithium from the Upper Rhine Graben in Germany.

EcoPro from South Korea has opened a 440,000-square-meter plant in Hungary to produce cathode material for around 600,000 electric vehicle batteries per year.