Local Chinese news outlets have reported that Albemarle has entered into an agreement with the management authority of the Pengshan Economic Development Zone to set up a production base for materials used in the manufacturing of lithium batteries. Based in the US, Albemarle is a major supplier for various types of lithium materials and chemicals. The Pengshan Economic Development Zone is a part of the city of Meishan in China’s Sichuan Province. The agreement was reportedly sealed on October 20, and Albemarle released a press release on October 22 to announce the event.
Albemarle will be investing a total of US$500 million into the base, which is touted to be the largest of its kind in Southwest China. Spanning an area of around 260 mu, the base will act as a major driver of both technological innovations and the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies within the economic development zone. The base will also inject additional growth momentum into Meishan’s lithium battery industry, which has reached hundreds of billions of yuan in scale. As a supply source for production-related materials, the base will further extend the local battery chain.
Established in 1887 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Albemarle has been a leading suppliers for lithium materials, bromine materials, and petrochemical catalysts. With regard to lithium-based offerings, Albemarle provides pure lithium, lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, organic lithium compounds, other lithium salts, etc. These are precursors or ingredients for the electrodes and electrolytes of lithium batteries.
With operations located in 100 countries, Albemarle has recently been focusing on China. Mining news websites reported in late September that Albemarle plans to acquire Guangxi Tianyuan New Energy Materials for US$200 million. Located near the port of Qinzhou in Guanxi Province, Tianyuan is a producer of battery-grade lithium materials. The company is also building a conversion plant that will yield 25,000MT of LCE equivalent annually. The plant is scheduled to enter operation in the first half of next year.
On October 22, Albemarle formally announced that it has entered strategic investment agreements with Yangtze River International Chemical Industrial Park in Jiangsu Province and the Pengshang Economic Development Park in Sichuan Province to build local conversion plants for lithium hydroxide. Each plant will have an annual production capacity of 50,000MT. The construction of the two plants is expected to start in 2022 and end in 2024.