Mangrove Lithium is significantly expanding North America's lithium refining capacity with a new facility 20 times larger than its current one, aiming to produce 20,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium.
Mangrove Lithium unveiled plans for a massive new lithium refining facility. This ambitious project, 20 times larger than its existing Delta, British Columbia plant, aims to produce 20,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium annually – enough to power over half a million EVs each year. The announcement comes amidst escalating geopolitical shifts and a growing global imperative to secure robust, localized lithium supply chains.
The strategic expansion is a direct response to burgeoning customer demand, with Mangrove having already secured Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with multiple leading U.S. battery gigafactories. These agreements, covering the entire 20,000 tonnes per annum output, underscore the market's strong confidence in Mangrove's advanced refining technology and its operational readiness to meet the critical need for Western-sourced lithium.
"These MoUs reflect the accelerating interest from global customers who recognize Mangrove as a strategic partner in securing lithium supply," stated Saad Dara, CEO and founder of Mangrove Lithium. The urgency of this demand is palpable, particularly as North America's EV market continues its rapid growth, projected to record a CAGR of 16.1% during the forecast period from 2023 to 2030. The U.S. alone saw 1.4 million new electric car registrations in 2023, a 40% increase from 2022, signaling a robust and expanding appetite for EVs.
A key feature of the new plant will be its integration of spodumene concentrate processing, an upstream extension of Mangrove's proprietary electrochemical processing flowsheet. This integration is a crucial step towards "reshoring" vital parts of the lithium value chain, which are currently heavily concentrated in Chinese processing infrastructure. The fragility of this global reliance was starkly highlighted earlier this year when China proposed an export ban on key lithium processing and extraction technologies. With the majority of lithium currently processed in China, such restrictions pose a significant risk to global supply chains, making domestic capabilities like Mangrove's increasingly vital for energy security and economic stability.
Mangrove's innovative electrochemical refining technology offers multiple advantages beyond geopolitical risk mitigation. It significantly cuts production costs, reduces the carbon footprint of the supply chain by eliminating the need for various chemical reagents (like soda ash and caustic soda), and remarkably, produces no waste by-products.
Meanwhile, construction is progressing well at Mangrove's first commercial facility in Delta, British Columbia. Following a successful $35 million USD funding round, this initial plant is on track to commence operations by the end of the year.
