Ford Motor Co. said it has signed an initial deal to buy lithium from its Lake Resources NL facility in Argentina, the first time the automaker has publicly announced it will purchase electric vehicle battery metal.
Ford Motor Co. said on Monday it has signed an initial deal to buy lithium from its Lake Resources NL facility in Argentina, the first time the automaker has publicly announced it will purchase electric vehicle battery metal.
The deal is a major bet by Ford on direct lithium extraction (DLE), a new breed of relatively new technologies that filters metal from brine and uses far fewer acres than open-pit mines and evaporation ponds. Is.
General Motors Co., BMW, Stellantis NV and other Ford rivals have made supply deals of their own with companies planning to use DLE technology.
Ford aims to buy 25,000 tons of the white metal annually from Lech’s Kachi project in northern Argentina, which is being developed with privately held extraction startup Lilac Solutions Inc.
Like all DLE technologies, Lilac’s technology has yet to work commercially, although it has the backing of Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures and other high-profile investors.
The agreement between Lake and Ford is non-binding and will need to be finalized to include a specific delivery timetable.
Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said in February that his company was working on deals to ensure the supply of key raw materials for batteries such as lithium, nickel, rare earth and copper.
“This is one of several agreements we are exploring to help Ford secure raw materials to support our aggressive EV acceleration plan,” said Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Fleck.
Sydney-based Lake Resources is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, which requires supply deals to be publicly disclosed.
The Cacchi project in northern Argentina, near the Chilean border, cost about $540 million and is expected to open by 2024.
Lilac’s technology uses 10 tons of water for per ton of lithium produced. Lilac has said that he may use a desalination plant to filter the salt water to avoid the use of potable water.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheider in Houston; Additional reporting by Ben Kellman in Detroit; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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