Green Lithium's European Refinery Plans

Green Lithium intends to construct a 50,000 mt/year refinery to service European electric vehicle and battery producers. The refinery is slated to produce sufficient lithium hydroxide to fill more than 1 million EVs/year.

Green Lithium is hoping to fill the gap in the EV supply chain by connecting UK and European lithium battery and cell manufacturers to international raw lithium material sources through a low-carbon and sustainable refining process.

Lithium Market Performance

Lithium prices have been solid in recent months, with S&P Global Commodity Insights' seaborne lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide assessments up 121.9% and 152.4% respectively since the start of 2022 at $75,000/mt CIF North Asia and $80,000/mt CIF North Asia as of May 9.

Meeting European Demand for Battery-Grade Lithium

Green Lithium said that new demand for battery-grade lithium chemicals was expected to exceed current global refining capacity, and that new refineries were needed to secure the commercial viability of the European battery supply chain and energy transition, and to diminish dependence on China.

Its planned UK refinery will be one of the first in Europe, the company said, as it went on to say that it anticipated "establishing the missing link and securing upstream supply chain security."

Sustainable Refining Process

They envisioned employing renewable energy and hydrogen in the refining process to extract as much CO2 as they can, to create a circular economy in battery recycling through the sustainable reuse of by-products, while also effectively eliminating process waste.

“The electric revolution is elemental to tackling carbon emissions, driving global climate change and meeting net-zero targets,” said Sean Sargent, CEO of Green Lithium, in a statement.

“In Trafigura, we have identified the ideal partner in a business that has extensive experience and knowledge of the battery supply chain, and which also is prepared to commit a strategic equity investment to enable Green Lithium to realise its project goals,” he added.

"At this crucial moment in the energy transition, this landmark project can be a step-change on the European supply chain for the production of EVs and the sustainable energy storage to facilitate that," said Socrates Economou, Trafigura's Global Head of Battery Metals.

“We look forward to working alongside Green Lithium to help it develop as we further leverage Trafigura’s global expertise in transforming the battery metals supply chain for a low-carbon future,” he said.

After an initial private funding round raised more than five times the target amount, Green Lithium was now raising capital for the activity that would take the company into this development phase, it said.

In June 2021, Green Lithium received GBP1.6 million ($2.2 million) and additional support to advance plans for the refinery in the UK.