Australian firm investing heavily in doubling lithium hydroxide processing as countries rush to secure energy transition materials

Australia’s Albemarle is investing big in lithium processing: US lithium giant Albemarle plans to spend between USD 1.25 bn and USD 1.5 bn to double its lithium hydroxide processing operations in Western Australia, Bloomberg reports, citing a company statement. The plan — which could raise its lithium hydroxide production by 50k tons annually — involves Albemarle building two additional processing trains in its Kemerton plant in Western Australia. The new trains will process spodumene ore from the Greenbushes mine, which is a top global source of lithium. When operating at full capacity, the facility would process up to 100k tons of lithium hydroxide annually.

REMEMBER- Battery grade lithium hydroxide is a key component for the energy transition and essential for EV battery manufacturing. Lithium hydroxide is better suited than lithium carbonate for the next generation of EV batteries, according to a 2022 Irena report (pdf).

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