BMW signs agreement with Ganfeng Lithium

Following the deals with Tesla and LG Chem, BMW has now also signed a five year supply agreement with Ganfeng Lithium for lithium hydroxide.

The agreement has an extension option for an additional three years, and specifies that Ganfeng will provide as much lithium hydroxide to BMW as the automobile manufacturer needs, at market price. Recently CATL also offered the Germans to enter the business with a 430 million dollar investment in the BMW Brilliance joint venture, as soon as CATL sells some of their stake in China or abroad. CATL will begin manufacturing battery cells in Germany next year.

Vehicle manufacturers have to secure a steady supply of lithium for their batteries. Tesla alone could use up to 28,000 tonnes per year of the material for their vehicle batteries by end of next year. LG Chem also signed an agreement for 48,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide until the end of 2022. This would be enough to manufacture one million electric vehicles with a range up to 320 km, according to LG Chem.

Furthermore, the announcements will likely strengthen Ganfeng Lithium’s search for potential investors for their planned stock market entry in Hong Kong. The step to the capital market is planned to secure 676 million dollars for Ganfeng.

ft.com (Paywall), cninfo.com.cn (In Chinese)