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Friday, Mar 29, 2024
Mugglehead Magazine
Alternative investment news based in Vancouver, B.C.

Alternative Energy

Ford and Nemaska Lithium sign long-term partnership for lithium hydroxide supply

Nemaska Lithium will provide up to 13,000 tons of lithium hydroxide annually to Ford for the next 11 years

Ford and Nemaska Lithium sign long-term partnership for lithium hydroxide supply
Whabouchi Mine owned by Nemaska Lithum. One of the largest hard rock lithium deposits in the world. Photo via Nemaska Lithium.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) will be Nemaska Lithium’s first customer to buy lithium hydroxide for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries.

The carmaker announced the partnership on Tuesday after it entered the long-term supply agreement where Nemaska Lithium will provide up to 13,000 tons of lithium hydroxide annually to Ford for the next 11 years.

Before Nemaska Lithium starts delivering lithium hydroxide from its Becancour processing site, it will first supply Ford with spodumene concentrate from its Whabouchi lithium mine. Nemaska Lithium’s mining and processing operation aims to be the first to produce lithium hydroxide in Quebec.

Nemaska Lithium is jointly owned by Investissement Québec, a Quebec government economic agency, and Livent Corporation, a major lithium producer. Livent has decades of experience producing lithium chemicals. Nemaska Lithium’s board hired Livent to handle sales and marketing of its products exclusively. Livent is also helping Nemaska Lithium with planning and overseeing the construction of its lithium mining and processing sites.

“This long-term agreement with a global leader in the automotive industry and in the development of electric vehicles is a tribute to the strength of Nemaska Lithium’s project and the quality of the product we will supply,” Nemaska Lithium chairman Gervais Jacques said.

“It also strengthens our position as a major player in the development of the battery industry in Québec and Canada.”

Read more: Targa Exploration closes acquisition of Pan Canadian Lithium

Read more: Car maker Stellantis and Rio Tinto invest in McEwen Copper Argentinian mine

“We are proud to work with Nemaska Lithium and its partners, Livent and Investissement Québec. The Nemaska Lithium project will be a sustainable source of lithium, supporting Ford’s ability to scale and helping us make EVs more accessible and affordable over time to millions of customers,” Ford’s vice president of EV Industrialization Lisa Drake said.

Nemaska Lithium plans to manufacture and sell battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The company aims to operate sustainably and responsibly. The lithium hydroxide it produces in Quebec will be high quality and have a small carbon footprint compared to other lithium producers.

The lithium hydroxide may help qualify Ford vehicles for U.S. consumer tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Read more: Canada emerges as preferred place for green mining tech: report

Read more: General Motors invests USD$50M into lithium extraction refinery tech company

The move toward carbon-free technologies and government investment in green energy has fueled automakers’ growing demand for lithium and copper to produce electric vehicle batteries.

Last April, General Motors (NYSE: GM) announced an investment of US$50 million in Energy Exploration Technologies (EnergyX) and entered into a strategic agreement to develop EnergyX’s lithium extraction and refinery technology.

Earlier this year, General Motors also announced an investment of US$650 million in the Thacker Pass lithium mine owned by Lithium Americas Corp. (TSX: LAC) (NYSE: LAC) to help secure a reliable lithium source for GM’s future electric vehicle production quota.

 

 

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