Albemarle has announced its decision to expand its Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant in Western Australia by building two additional processing lines. Building trains 3 and 4 at the Kemerton facility will require an investment of more than $1 billion.

With the addition of trains, capacity at the lithium hydroxide facility is expected to increase by 50,000 metric tons per year. Once operating at full capacity, the Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant is expected to produce up to 100,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide per annum. It is estimated to facilitate the manufacture of nearly 2.4 million electric vehicles annually. The additional trains will be fully owned and operated by the specialty chemicals manufacturer.

Albemarle chief executive Kent Masters said Australia was critical to the global energy storage supply chain and an important part of our diversified product portfolio. Our decision to scale up was driven by our confidence in future demand, which allows us to provide our customers with additional supply from Greenbushes, known to be one of the best lithium mines in the world.

The lithium hydroxide facility is located in the Kemerton industrial estate, 160 kilometers south of Perth, and its feedstock comes from spodumene concentrate from the nearby Greenbushes mine. The Kemerton plant is part of the MARBL joint venture, which is owned by Albemarle and Mineral Resources with a 60% and 40% stake respectively. The first two trains at the Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant are owned by the joint venture. Construction on the expansion project is expected to begin shortly, with the first expansion products expected to be launched in 2026. Around 1,000 people are expected to be employed during peak construction.

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan said Albemarle's lithium hydroxide plant in Kemerton was one of the best examples Western Australia had to offer the world in terms of battery and critical mineral supply chains. The expansion of the plant is good news for the region, the state and Australia.Editor/XingWentao