According to an announcement made by LG Chem Ltd., the largest chemical company in South Korea, on Friday, the company invested $75 million to acquire a stake in US-based Piedmont Lithium Inc. with the purpose of securing a stable supply of a key material used in the manufacturing of electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
As a result of the equity investment, LG Chem now holds approximately 6% of Piedmont’s common shares, which is expected to support the company’s production of EV batteries in the future. In addition to the equity investment, LG Chem has also signed a deal to receive 200,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate from Piedmont’s jointly-owned North American Lithium over a four-year period starting from Q3 2023.
Piedmont currently holds a 25% stake in the NAL mine, and lithium can be extracted from spodumene concentrates through roasting and acid roasting operations. LG Chem is set to extract around 30,000 tons of lithium from the 200,000 tons of spodumene concentrates obtained from Piedmont. This quantity of lithium is sufficient to produce batteries for approximately 500,000 EVs, according to LG Chem.
In conclusion, LG Chem’s investment in Piedmont Lithium and the supply agreement for spodumene concentrate would secure a stable supply of a crucial material for the production of electric vehicle batteries, which is consistent with LG Chem’s commitment to contributing to the development of the electric vehicle industry.