LGES places binding lithium order with Vulcan Energy

Vulcan Energy Resources has entered into a binding lithium offtake agreement with LG Energy Solution. Unlike the deal with Renault, the delivery volume in the urgent order with LGES is as high as announced.

The deal had already been announced in July 2021  for up to 10,000 metric tonnes per year over the five-year term. According to the final agreement, which has now been finalised, the South Korean battery cell manufacturer will buy between 41,000 and 50,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from Vulcan over the initial five-year term of the contract, starting in 2025.

“It means that we are fully sold out for the first five years of planned lithium production, which is an important foundation toward securing project finance,” says Francis Wedin, managing director of Vulcan Energy. In December, it was also announced that Volkswagen had entered into a partnership with Vulcan.

LG Energy Solution operates its European plant in Poland, and the plant there is to be expanded to up to 65 GWh production capacity. LGES does not explicitly confirm that the lithium mined in Germany will be used there, but it is very likely. Dong Soo Kim, Senior Vice President of the Procurement Department at LGES, only stated that it wants to diversify its supply chain.

The agreement with Renault, which was also announced in the summer, was fixed in November 2021: However, the French carmaker only placed a final order for up to 5,333 tonnes per year, after up to 17,000 tonnes had been promised.

Much more extensive than the Renault deal and the LGES order, however, is another agreement that was also announced in November. Starting in 2026, Vulcan will supply a minimum of 81,000 tonnes and a maximum of 99,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide to Stellantis over the five-year term – almost twice as much as to LGES.

The process involves pumping hot thermal water from the depths to the surface – in geothermal plants, and it is used to generate heat and electricity. Vulcan, however, still wants to extract lithium hydroxide from the brine water before the water is pumped back into the depths. So by 2024, two plants will extract 15,000 tonnes of it per year. In the second phase, starting in 2025, the company plans three more plants for a volume of 40,000 tonnes.

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