Albemarle strikes deal with BMW for battery-grade lithium

World's leading lithium producer Albemarle announced a definitive agreement last week with the BMW Group to supply battery-grade lithium to help the German automaker meet its high-performance, premium electric vehicles. 

The multi-year agreement is to takes effect in 2025, and is claimed by Albemarle as one of the company's largest ever globally with significant volume and value, to help BMW secure the supply of lithium hydroxide and accelerate lithium material innovations. 

In addition to supplying the BMW Group with lithium hydroxide, the two companies will partner on technology for safer and more energy dense lithium-ion batteries. 

"Albemarle is committed to building a more resilient world," said Albemarle Energy Storage President Eric Norris. "We welcome the opportunity to work alongside the BMW Group to further enable the clean energy transition", he added.

This is the second supply agreement between both the companies. However, the latest agreement is the first to include a shared interest in research opportunities to accelerate lithium battery innovations.

Early this month, Albemarle downgraded its battery materials demand forecast for 2030 by 10 per cent, citing delay in the development of new EVs in US and Europe and consumer shift to smaller battery cars in China.

The company's latest demand estimate stands at 3.3 million tones of lithium carbon equivalent by 2030 for global markets, down from its earlier forecast of 3.7 million tones.