South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution said Thursday it has signed lithium and cobalt sourcing agreements with three major Canadian suppliers of key minerals to strengthen its supply chain of key battery materials in North America, according to foreign media reports.
The three suppliers are Snow Lake Resources (Snow Lake), Electra Battery Materials Corporation (Electra) and Avalon (Avalon), which will supply lithium and cobalt to LG New Energy.
Under a non-binding memorandum of understanding between LG New Energy and Snow Lake, Snow Lake will supply LG New Energy with 20,000 tons of lithium hydroxide per year for 10 years once production begins in 2025.
Under a non-binding MOU signed between LG New Energy and Avalon, Avalon will supply LG New Energy with 11,000 tons of lithium hydroxide per year for five years starting in 2025.
Avalon plans to establish a regional supply chain for lithium battery materials in Ontario to meet the needs of future electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery manufacturers in southern Ontario and elsewhere, according to foreign media reports.
Under a binding agreement signed between LG New Energy and Electra on Thursday, Electra will supply LG New Energy with 7,000 tons of cobalt sulfate over a three-year period starting in 2023.
LG New Energy is a new company spun off from LG Chem in December 2020, specializing in the battery business, whose customers include Tesla, General Motors and Volkswagen. After the spin-off, LG Chem will own 100% of the new company.
LG New Energy is said to have more than 20 percent of the global electric vehicle battery market, with production sites in the U.S., China, South Korea, Poland, Canada and Indonesia, and is now working to expand its business in North America.
The company said that securing the key minerals needed for batteries is becoming increasingly important as automakers around the world accelerate their transition to electric vehicles.
