LG Energy Solution’s R&D Campus Daejeon is shown in this photo provided by LG Energy Solution.
SEOUL, April 5 (Korea Bizwire) — LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES), the top South Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery maker, said Wednesday it has clinched a preliminary agreement with a Chinese lithium producer for collaboration in the supply of lithium hydroxide in Morocco, as part of stepped-up efforts to source the key battery material.
LGES, also the world’s No. 2 EV battery supplier, will work together with Yahua, a Sichuan-based chemicals manufacturer, to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide in the African nation, the company said in a release, without providing further details.
Lithium hydroxide is feedstock for cathodes, one of the key components in electric vehicle batteries. It is easy to combine with nickel, a critical mineral that determines the power and driving range of EV battery cells.
LGES said the partnership will help bolster the supply chains for core battery materials and meet the sourcing requirements in the United States.
The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) gives up to US$7,500 tax credits to EV buyers whose vehicles were assembled in North America and made with equipment using minerals mined or processed in the U.S. or countries or regions that have a free trade agreement (FTA) with Washington.
The deal will also help LGES to prepare for the proposed Critical Raw Materials Act, a similar legislation on minerals supply chains being pushed for by the European Union, LGES said.
Morocco has FTAs with the U.S. and the EU.
LGES is ramping up efforts to strengthen its global sourcing of critical minerals. It has signed lithium-related supply deals with Vulcan Energy in Germany, Australia’s Liontown Resources and Chile’s SQM.
(Yonhap)
