Europe: Recharge Industries, an Australian unit of Scale Facilitation and the preferred bidder to acquire battery developer Britishvolt, has recently signed a Lithium supply agreement with Tees Valley Lithium-a subsidiary of Alkemy Capital Investments. This was made known by Alkemy in a statement.
TVL and Recharge have come together to collaborate on the supply of tolled low-carbon Lithium Hydroxide. As part of this Memorandum of Understanding, the two parties are negotiating a definitive offtake agreement which would ensure that Recharge's qualified supply chain receives this product. Beyond that, the two organizations are also exploring possibilities for jointly sourcing spodumene for TVL's processing facilities.
Recharge, a company from EY, has successfully bid to purchase Britishvolt. The deal is expected to be finalized within seven days and TVL will supply the planned gigafactory in Blyth, Northumberland. In addition, Recharge's Geelong gigafactory in Australia will also receive Lithium Hydroxide from Teesside. Both companies are aiming for a definitive offtake and supply agreement, according to Alkemy.
Teck Ventures Limited (TVL) and Sirius Minerals plc have agreed to collaborate on a mutually beneficial project. TVL will source Lithium spodumene from Sirius and convert it into Lithium Sulfate at its refinery in Port Hedland, Western Australia, which will then be shipped to Teesside to be turned into Lithium Hydroxide. The aim is to provide UK and European customers with low carbon Lithium Hydroxide by utilizing low Carbon feedstock and powering an electrochemical refining process with green energy sources such as offshore wind and green Hydrogen.
"The significant offtake envisaged under the MOU enables long term planning and production forecasting and strengthens its own battery offtake agreements and existing supply chain," Alkemy stated, Recharge has announced that they will make their supply of Lithium Hydroxide available to their unnamed active cathode supplier.
Recharge Industries divulged TVL's information "philosophy and vision of powering the transition to a low-Carbon and low-emissions future through the development of onshore UK facilities in the EV and battery cell supply chain," Alkemy and TVL Director Sam Quinn stated.
"This MOU links two like-minded companies to enable the critical mineral supply chain needed to build significant battery manufacturing capability in Australia, the US and the UK and underscores our intent to revive the fortunes of Britishvolt," Recharge founder David Collard stated.
TVL has secured the first phase of approval for its proposed Lithium Hydroxide refinery from the UK's Automotive Transformation Fund. The Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council granted permission for the $300 million project to be built in Wilton International Chemicals Park in Teesside Freeport.
TVL has completed a full environmental impact assessment over an 18-month period and is now 'shovel-ready' with construction planned to begin in 2023 and operations set to kick off in 2025.
The new refinery is set to make a big splash in the electric vehicle battery industry. It will be able to produce up to 96,000 metric tons per year of low-Carbon battery-grade Lithium Hydroxide each year once it reaches its full capacity. This is sure to revolutionize the EV market.
