Avalon enters $11 million funding agreement for lithium processing facility

US subsidies will support the growth of the top 3 lithium producer if the Livent and Allkem merger creating the new company goes ahead.

Lithium prices overshot last year driven by China but this year fresh supply, including from Africa, has led to a collapse in prices.

Rules for battery components should apply from 2024, while critical minerals will be covered from 2025.

Tianqi Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium closed up 6.5% and 7%, respectively, in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

The proposed mine, if built, would become one of North America's largest sources of lithium for electric vehicle batteries.

The funds will be used to support a mini-pilot to confirm certain process design criteria and improvements to the NICO project metallurgical processes in Canada's Northwest Territories. .

The state-owned ore processing company said it will be in a position to choose a partner for a sprawling lithium project by mid next year.

The Biden administration has unveiled plans to exclude Chinese entities from receiving any of the generous tax credits available for investing in the US EV supply chain.

The automaker joins PT Vale Indonesia and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt as investors in a project to make an annual 120,000 tons of nickel chemicals for EV batteries.