GM Adds Another EV Battery Material Supply Agreement

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As it continues to source electric vehicle (EV) battery materials, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) (Detroit, Michigan) said Monday it has signed a definitive agreement with Element 25 Limited (E25) (Perth, Australia) to obtain high-purity manganese sulphate (HPMSM), a component in lithium-ion batteries. Industrial Info is tracking projects that GM will source materials from as well as projects from the automaker itself.

Element 25 will supply GM with up to 32,500 metric tons of manganese sulfate over a seven-year period, which is expected to begin in 2025, from its proposed $240 million HPMSM production facility in Louisiana. Under the agreement, GM will provide E25 with an $85 million loan to partially fund the construction. The facility would have an initial production capacity of 65,000 tons per year, which could be expanded to 130,000 tons per year following a second phase.

However, the agreements are subject to conditions, including but not limited to, GM's acceptance of the project's feasibility study, a decision by Element 25 to move forward based on the feasibility study and execution of the proposed lease for the plant site by November.

"GM is scaling EV production in North America well past 1 million units annually and our direct investments in battery raw materials, processing and components for EVs are providing certainty of supply, favorable commercial terms and thousands of new jobs, especially in the U.S., Canada and free trade agreement countries like Australia," said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. "The facility E25 will build in Louisiana is significant because it's expected be the first plant in the United States to produce battery-grade manganese sulfate, a key component of cathode active material which helps improve EV battery cell cost." Element 25 will produce the material by processing manganese concentrate shipped from its Butcherbird mining operations in Australia.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Industry project and plant databases can click here to read related project reports, here for the manganese sulphate plant profile, and here for more information on the Butcherbird operations.

GM's supply agreement with Element 25 builds on other efforts to boost its EV battery production announced in the last year.

Earlier this month, GM announced the second phase of its joint venture with a subsidiary of South Korea's POSCO Holdings, for an additional facility to increase production of battery cathode active materials (CAM) and integrate precursor materials production (pCAM). GM expects to announce a site selection later. "pCAM is a specifically engineered combination of processed raw materials necessary to produce CAM, a key battery material representing about 40% of the cost of a battery cell. Currently, CAM and pCAM processing is highly concentrated in Asia," the company said in a press release.

The $469.4 billion first phase in Becancour, Quebec kicked off last year and is expected to wrap up in 2024. GM expects the total investment will exceed $1 billion. Subscribers can click here to read more information.

GM also has announced a strategic investment in Lithion Technologies' (formerly Lithion Recycling Inc.) (Quebec) Series A financing round, supporting a new partnership to "pursue a circular battery ecosystem using Lithion's advanced battery recycling technology," according to a press release. The partnership will focus on utilizing Lithion's recovered battery materials to produce new batteries, and the "potential to acquire battery materials." It also includes joint investment in research and development of recycling processes.

Construction of Lithion's first commercial recycling operations, a $250 million lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Quebec, is underway and expected to be completed by the end of the year. This facility will be followed by the construction of a proposed $250 million hydrometallurgical plant at the same site. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the battery-recycling and hydrometallurgical projects.

GM also has announced an agreement to procure battery-grade nickel sulfate from Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) (Rio de Janeiro). For more information, see Industrial Info's November 23, 2022, article - GM, Vale Clinch Canada Nickel Supply Deal for EV Batteries.

The Biden administration is working to expand domestic production of EV batteries and their components and has offered up loans for several related projects--including a GM joint venture with a subsidiary of LG Chem Limited (Seoul, South Korea). For more information, see June 12, 2023, article - Biden Administration Hands Out Another Loan to Support Domestic EV Battery Production.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).