Huayou commissions $300 million Zimbabwe lithium plant

Startup is one of several companies developing its own version of a direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.

Ford said it has now sourced about 70% of the battery cell capacity it needs to achieve its annual production rate of more than 2 million by late 2026.

The Lithium Technical Development Center was built to demonstrate the chemical process designed for the company’s Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt county.

The partnership will support the transition toward a net-zero future by supplying Ford with materials including lithium, low-carbon aluminum and copper.

ioneer will supply 7,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate annually for five years to BlueOvalSK, Ford's battery joint venture with SK Innovation.

Ford said it also has agreed with CATL to explore using the Chinese company's batteries in Ford vehicles sold in the United States, Europe and China.

The miner expects to produce between 160,000 and 170,000 dry metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate for the year ending June 2023.

Tesla alone will need more than 3 terabyte hours of lithium-ion batteries by 2030, compared to the industry’s current global capacity of about 1 terabyte.

Based on a comparison of one of the most promising solid-state batteries to lithium-ion technology and using sustainable lithium sources, a battery's carbon footprint could be cut by as much as 39%.