Slightly more than half of the world’s supply of lithium is currently mined Down Under, but handing the lion’s share of the mineral over to only one country for processing into battery materials is a key reason lithium is now considered a critical mineral.
The true environmental and social impacts of this most vital element in the energy transition are essentially invisible to the rest of the world, and its supply is extremely vulnerable to disruption, a lesson learned during the COVID pandemic.
United Kingdom-based Tees Valley Lithium is investing in a lithium-sulfate refining facility in Australia, which is expected to help massively reduce the volume of lithium-related materials shipped out by almost 80%.
Meanwhile, Tees Valley Lithium’s parent company, Alkemy Capital Investments, announced it would supply lithium hydroxide to Recharge Industries, an Australian battery-manufacturing startup.
Alkemy Capital Investments plc (LON:ALK, FRA: JV2) is focussed on developing projects in the energy transition metals sector. Alkemy’s wholly-owned subsidiary Tees Valley Lithium (TVL) is developing a state of the art lithium hydroxide plant at Teesside, UK. TVL is Europe’s largest independent and sustainable lithium hydroxide producer.