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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on August 9 issued a request for information (RFI) for input on developing a program to advance domestic sourcing and production of critical minerals, including rare-earth elements, lithium, nickel and cobalt, that are key to clean-energy technologies.
The Critical Materials Research, Development, Demonstration, and Commercialization Program will utilize $675 million in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law to "address vulnerabilities in the domestic critical materials supply chain, which are both an economic disadvantage and an impediment to the clean energy transition." Critical minerals are used in manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries, wind turbines and solar panels, among other technologies.
According to the DOE, "global demand for critical materials is expected to increase by 400-600% over the next several decades. For certain materials, such as lithium and graphite used in electric-vehicle batteries, demand is expected to increase by as much as 4,000%."
Industrial Info is tracking 24 projects in the U.S., worth $3.5 billion, that involve the extraction, processing and recycling of lithium for batteries. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.
North American lithium-ion battery developer Li-Cycle Holdings Corporation (NYSE:LICY) (Toronto, Ontario) is constructing an estimated $485 million lithium hydrometallurgical refinery hub in Rochester, New York, which is designed to process 35,000 tons per year of "black mass" battery material for use as raw material in new batteries. Black mass comprises the shredded remnants of a battery that has outlived its use, and typically consists of high amounts of lithium, manganese, cobalt and nickel metals. Li-Cycle believes the output from the Rochester facility could be used in the production of up to 225,000 EVs per year. Click here for the detailed project report.
Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ:PLL) (Belmont, North Carolina) plans to construct a $580 million Bessemer City Carolina Lithium Mine & Concentrator in Gaston County, North Carolina, which will produce spodumene concentrate (lithium ore mineral); some of the mineral will be further processed at its adjacent $408 million Phase #1 conversion plant, which will convert the concentrate to lithium hydroxide--a key building block for EV batteries. The projects, which are now in the permitting phase, were expected to kick off in July 2022, before being delayed to 2024. A second lithium hydroxide conversion plant at a yet-to-be-determined site in the U.S. could follow. Click here for the related project reports.
According to its 2022 annual report to shareholders, Piedmont submitted a loan application to the DOE in December 2021 for "potential funding of program eligible capital costs," including but not limited to the concentrator and lithium hydroxide conversion projects.
In terms of other minerals, vertically integrated cobalt and nickel producer United States Strategic Metals LLC (St. Louis, Missouri) plans to redevelop a cobalt-nickel-copper mine in Fredericktown, Missouri, to produce cobalt, nickel and copper concentrate that would be processed at an onsite hydrometallurgical plant to produce battery-grade cobalt and nickel. The kickoff is expected in July 2023.
Western Rare Earths Limited's (Phoenix, Arizona) Bouse La Paz Rare Earths Mine in Arizona is in the early planning stage, and will be developed with a total mineral estimate of 16.2 million tons to meet the U.S. demand for critical minerals. The company is a U.S. subsidiary of Australia's American Rare Earths (Sydney, New South Wales).
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Investment in the global mining sector is being driven in part by efforts to support the energy transition, according to Joe Govreau, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Metals & Minerals Industry. For more information, see July 14, 2022, article - Global Mining Activity Remains Strong in Face of Changes.
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).
The Critical Materials Research, Development, Demonstration, and Commercialization Program will utilize $675 million in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law to "address vulnerabilities in the domestic critical materials supply chain, which are both an economic disadvantage and an impediment to the clean energy transition." Critical minerals are used in manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries, wind turbines and solar panels, among other technologies.
According to the DOE, "global demand for critical materials is expected to increase by 400-600% over the next several decades. For certain materials, such as lithium and graphite used in electric-vehicle batteries, demand is expected to increase by as much as 4,000%."
Industrial Info is tracking 24 projects in the U.S., worth $3.5 billion, that involve the extraction, processing and recycling of lithium for batteries. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.
North American lithium-ion battery developer Li-Cycle Holdings Corporation (NYSE:LICY) (Toronto, Ontario) is constructing an estimated $485 million lithium hydrometallurgical refinery hub in Rochester, New York, which is designed to process 35,000 tons per year of "black mass" battery material for use as raw material in new batteries. Black mass comprises the shredded remnants of a battery that has outlived its use, and typically consists of high amounts of lithium, manganese, cobalt and nickel metals. Li-Cycle believes the output from the Rochester facility could be used in the production of up to 225,000 EVs per year. Click here for the detailed project report.
Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ:PLL) (Belmont, North Carolina) plans to construct a $580 million Bessemer City Carolina Lithium Mine & Concentrator in Gaston County, North Carolina, which will produce spodumene concentrate (lithium ore mineral); some of the mineral will be further processed at its adjacent $408 million Phase #1 conversion plant, which will convert the concentrate to lithium hydroxide--a key building block for EV batteries. The projects, which are now in the permitting phase, were expected to kick off in July 2022, before being delayed to 2024. A second lithium hydroxide conversion plant at a yet-to-be-determined site in the U.S. could follow. Click here for the related project reports.
According to its 2022 annual report to shareholders, Piedmont submitted a loan application to the DOE in December 2021 for "potential funding of program eligible capital costs," including but not limited to the concentrator and lithium hydroxide conversion projects.
In terms of other minerals, vertically integrated cobalt and nickel producer United States Strategic Metals LLC (St. Louis, Missouri) plans to redevelop a cobalt-nickel-copper mine in Fredericktown, Missouri, to produce cobalt, nickel and copper concentrate that would be processed at an onsite hydrometallurgical plant to produce battery-grade cobalt and nickel. The kickoff is expected in July 2023.
Western Rare Earths Limited's (Phoenix, Arizona) Bouse La Paz Rare Earths Mine in Arizona is in the early planning stage, and will be developed with a total mineral estimate of 16.2 million tons to meet the U.S. demand for critical minerals. The company is a U.S. subsidiary of Australia's American Rare Earths (Sydney, New South Wales).
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Investment in the global mining sector is being driven in part by efforts to support the energy transition, according to Joe Govreau, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Metals & Minerals Industry. For more information, see July 14, 2022, article - Global Mining Activity Remains Strong in Face of Changes.
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).
