GM today announced a new agreement with Livent that will see the Philadelphia-based chemicals company supply it with battery-grade lithium hydroxide over a six-year period beginning in 2025.
Livent will supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide to GM from its brine-based operations in Argentina, however the company plans to slowly increase the amount of lithium that comes from its U.S. manufacturing facilities over the course of the agreement and will eventually transition to a 100 percent North American-based operation. GM says lithium hydroxide is crucial to its plans to make higher performance and higher mileage EVs and will be used in its latest EV offerings, such as the Chevy Blazer EV and Silverado EV, GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq.
GM also announced a new agreement with LG Chem this week that will see the Korean company provide it with up to 950,000 tonnes of cathode active material for EV batteries. Between the Livent and LG Chem agreements, along with other previously announced partnerships like that with Posco, GM says it has now contractually secured enough raw battery material to produce one million units of EV capacity in North America by the end of 2025.
“We are building a strong, sustainable, scalable and secure supply chain to help meet our fast-growing EV production needs,” said GM vice president of Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, Jeff Morrison. “We will further localize the lithium supply chain in North America over the course of the agreement. In addition, it is aligned with our approach to responsible sourcing and supply chain management and demonstrates our commitment to strong supplier relationships.”
Livent is currently undergoing a third-party Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance assessment, which helps to ensure lithium mines are eco-friendly and socially responsible. GM says the company also has a gold rating from EcoVadis for sustainability and has set a goal of achieving overall carbon neutrality in its operations by 2040.
In addition to LG Chem, Posco and Livent, other strategic partners that will supply parts and materials for future GM EVs include MP Materials (rare earth magnets), VAC (magnet factory), General Electric (rare earth and other materials), Wolfspeed (silicon carbide), and Controlled Thermal Resources (lithium).
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Comments
Just a guess, but I would think that they are looking at multiple sources. I’m sure they’ve learned their lesson over the last couple of years of being unable to finish vehicles due to supply chain disruptions, at least I hope they’ve learned something.