Ford and Nemaska Lithium announced on Monday the conclusion of an agreement that will see the American automaker buy lithium products, including lithium hydroxide, for 11 years at the Quebec company’s future plant in Bécancour, in the Centre-du-Quebec.
The agreement provides for the delivery of a maximum of 13,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year, the two companies said in a joint statement. The lithium produced in Bécancour will be used to produce batteries for Ford’s electric vehicles.
The construction of a new plant in Bécancour is a major project for Nemaska Lithium. The work, which should begin this year and last until 2025, will mobilize around 800 full-time people, according to the company.
Once operational, the plant will employ some 200 workers. Powered by hydroelectricity, it will convert the spodumene concentrate produced at the Whabouchi mine in northern Quebec into lithium hydroxide. This will be the first production plant of this type in Canada.
With Monday’s announcement, Ford becomes Nemaska Lithium’s first customer.
This long-term partnership with a leader in the automotive industry and in the development of electric vehicles testifies to the solidity of the Nemaska Lithium project and the quality of the product that we will deliver.
Gervais Jacques, Chairman of the Board of Nemaska Lithium
In an interview, Nemaska Lithium’s vice-president of finance, Steve Gartner, spoke of a vote of confidence in the solidity of the project and the quality of the product and in the Nemaska teams working to make the project a success.
“We are proud to be part of a North American supply chain that is socially responsible and meets high sustainability standards,” said Mr. Gartner.
He reiterated that it must be one of the lowest carbon spodumene-based lithium operations per unit of production in the world and must use “up to 12 times less water than other processes around the world.
The monetary value of the transaction was not disclosed.
stimulus engine
This new plant in Bécancour serves as a sort of engine for the revival of Nemaska Lithium, which found itself in a situation of insolvency in 2019.
Last summer, the Government of Quebec and its partner Livent announced that they were going to invest 80 million each in the capital stock of the company to continue the studies and preparatory work necessary for the resumption of the construction of a mine in Nord-du-Québec and the start of construction of the Bécancour plant.
The Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, then argued that this project is important for the development of the battery sector for electric vehicles in Quebec.
The Legault government is committed to investing 300 million in the revival of Nemaska. Of this envelope, 175 million have already been announced.
The recovery project has nothing to do with the first version of the business plan which had caused Investissement Québec to lose 71 million, while the mining company had placed itself safe from its creditors in 2019, had assured Minister Fitzgibbon. The Quebec state, under the previous Liberal government, had invested 130 million in the company.