Smackover seals 10-year lithium-supply deal with LG
The Arkansas-based producer will supply LG with 8,000 metric tonnes of battery-grade lithium for ten years.
LG Energy Solution (KRX: 373220) has signed a 10-year lithium supply deal with Smackover Lithium as the battery maker builds a domestic US supply chain for the critical mineral.
Smackover Lithium will supply LG with 8,000 metric tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate annually for a ten-year period, produced at the South West Arkansas (SWA) project. The material is expected to meet US foreign entity of concerns requirements.
“The agreement marks another step toward establishing a solid and resilient supply chain that keeps our products competitive in key strategic markets,” Kang Yeol Lee, Procurement Center Leader of LG Energy Solution said in a statement. “By bringing both battery production and sourcing to the U.S., we will deliver competitive and sustainable products to our customers driving the global energy storage and EV markets.”
The agreement gives LG a fully integrated local supply chain from sourcing to production, at a time where power demand is on the rise, driving the growth of energy storage systems. It also supports the Trump administration’s push to increase US critical minerals production and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.
This is the second offtake agreement Smackover Lithium, a partnership between Standard Lithium (TSX-V, NYSE: SLI) and Norway’s Equinor (NYSE: EQNR), secured this year. In March, they signed an agreement to provide commodities trader Trafigura with 8,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate over a ten-year period.
For LG, securing US lithium is part of a broader effort to diversify its supply chain and deliver cost-competitive battery and energy-storage products that can adapt to shifting regulatory environments.
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