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supply","ford-signs-five-lithium-deals-to-secure-north-american-and-ira-compliant-supply","article/ford-signs-five-lithium-deals-to-secure-north-american-and-ira-compliant-supply",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":556,"content":566,"excerpt":713,"featured":51,"reporter":714,"_editable":718,"component":719,"seo_title":543,"categories":720,"visibility":734,"author_company":49,"featured_image":735,"seo_description":713,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":740,"formattedArticleDate":741},"54701b08-f0f8-4c9e-93e1-c8de94cc559e","2023-05-23 00:00",[550,553],{"slug":551,"name":552},"ford","Ford",{"slug":554,"name":555},"inflation-reduction-act","Inflation Reduction Act",[557],{"slug":558,"name":559,"content":560},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":561,"image":562,"bio":564,"linkedin":565},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":563},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":567,"content":568},"doc",[569,586,598,603,608,613,620,625,630,635,640,645,650,655,660,665,670,675,680,685,690,703,708],{"type":570,"attrs":571,"content":572},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[573,576,584],{"text":574,"type":575},"Ford signed five lithium supply agreements with both the world’s largest producers SQM and Albemarle as well as with three smaller companies, to back its goal to produce 2 million vehicles a year by 2026 with raw materials that are ","text",{"text":577,"type":575,"marks":578},"eligible for US government tax credits",[579],{"type":580,"attrs":581},"link",{"href":582,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":583},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-the-us-meet-the-critical-mineral-requirements-of-the-climate-bill","url",{"text":585,"type":575},". ",{"type":570,"attrs":587,"content":588},{"textAlign":49},[589,591,596],{"text":590,"type":575},"Ford EVs with batteries containing lithium supplied by the agreements will likely qualify for consumer tax credits under the ",{"text":555,"type":575,"marks":592},[593],{"type":580,"attrs":594},{"href":595,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":583},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ira-lifts-us-battery-pipeline-growth-in-second-half-of-the-year-outpacing-europe",{"text":597,"type":575},", providing up to $7,500 per vehicle.",{"type":570,"attrs":599,"content":600},{"textAlign":49},[601],{"text":602,"type":575},"The move is a big push by Ford to localise its EV supply chain into North America as well as source material from Free Trade Agreement countries such as Chile, to meet the requirements of the IRA. It will also become the first customer of Nemaska Lithium, which is developing a mine and processing facility in Quebec. ",{"type":570,"attrs":604,"content":605},{"textAlign":49},[606],{"text":607,"type":575},"Benchmark forecasts that under 90,000 tonnes a year of lithium chemicals supply will come from North America by mid-decade. With battery-related demand in North America set to reach over 220,000 tpa LCE by 2025, investments into the region’s battery supply chain will need to accelerate if automakers are to secure sufficient material to meet this demand locally.",{"type":570,"attrs":609,"content":610},{"textAlign":49},[611],{"text":612,"type":575},"“This is the bedrock for an entire new lithium ion economy in the USA,” said Simon Moores, Benchmark CEO.",{"type":614,"attrs":615,"content":617},"heading",{"level":616,"textAlign":49},4,[618],{"text":619,"type":575},"Lithium majors central to Ford’s battery ramp-up",{"type":570,"attrs":621,"content":622},{"textAlign":49},[623],{"text":624,"type":575},"According to Lisa Drake, vice president of EV industrialisation at Ford, supply agreements with lithium majors means Ford’s expansion plans are “significantly de-risked.”",{"type":570,"attrs":626,"content":627},{"textAlign":49},[628],{"text":629,"type":575},"Albemarle will supply 100,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide for Ford between 2026 and 2030 while Chilean producer SQM will deliver an unspecified amount of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.",{"type":570,"attrs":631,"content":632},{"textAlign":49},[633],{"text":634,"type":575},"The deals mean that Ford has secured more than 90% of the lithium and nickel inputs it requires to meet its 2 million a year capacity target. ",{"type":570,"attrs":636,"content":637},{"textAlign":49},[638],{"text":639,"type":575},"The automaker says it has secured 240 gigawatt hours of battery cell capacity between five gigafactories in the US and Turkey. ",{"type":614,"attrs":641,"content":642},{"level":616,"textAlign":49},[643],{"text":644,"type":575},"Investing in future suppliers",{"type":570,"attrs":646,"content":647},{"textAlign":49},[648],{"text":649,"type":575},"Drake also announced the company will be investing in lithium projects still under development, referring to the deals with Compass Minerals, Nemaska Lithium, and Energy Source Minerals. ",{"type":570,"attrs":651,"content":652},{"textAlign":49},[653],{"text":654,"type":575},"Nemaska Lithium, which is 50 % owned by Livent, will supply up to 13,000 tonnes per year of lithium hydroxide from its Bécancour plant for 11 years once the plant comes online. ",{"type":570,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"textAlign":49},[658],{"text":659,"type":575},"Before Bécancour starts producing, Nemaska will supply Ford with spodumene concentrate from its Whabouchi mine. The deal makes Ford Nemaska’s first customer.",{"type":570,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":575},"EnergySource Minerals will supply lithium hydroxide from a 20,000 tonne-per-year capacity brine project in Imperial Valley, California expected to start operating in 2025. It has not specified the amount it will deliver. ",{"type":570,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":575},"Compass Minerals will provide Ford with up to 40% of its lithium carbonate from its Utah brine project for 5 years once it starts producing. The facility is set to enter production in 2025 and have an initial nameplate capacity of 11,000 tpa of lithium carbonate.",{"type":570,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[673],{"text":674,"type":575},"EnergySource Minerals processes lithium from brine that has been used to generate geothermal power using direct lithium extraction (DLE). Compass Minerals is also set to use Energy Source Mineral’s technology for its brine project.",{"type":570,"attrs":676,"content":677},{"textAlign":49},[678],{"text":679,"type":575},"According to Drake, investing in juniors supports the “need to continue exploring reserves and development extraction technologies” in order to “further diversify the industry.” ",{"type":570,"attrs":681,"content":682},{"textAlign":49},[683],{"text":684,"type":575},"Last year Ford also signed an offtake agreement with Ioneer, which is developing a lithium mine in Nevada. ",{"type":614,"attrs":686,"content":687},{"level":616,"textAlign":49},[688],{"text":689,"type":575},"Ford to use US-processed nickel",{"type":570,"attrs":691,"content":692},{"textAlign":49},[693,695,701],{"text":694,"type":575},"In addition to the lithium supply deals, Drake also announced one Ford battery plant will have access to a supply of IRA-compliant nickel sulphate intermediate MHP, thanks to a 2022 partnership with Brazilian miner ",{"text":696,"type":575,"marks":697},"Vale",[698],{"type":580,"attrs":699},{"href":700,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":583},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/vale-and-tesla-nickel-deal-highlights-automakers-carbon-conundrum",{"text":702,"type":575},".",{"type":570,"attrs":704,"content":705},{"textAlign":49},[706],{"text":707,"type":575},"Ford’s second 45 GWh Blue Oval EV plant in Kentucky will use MHP made using Vale nickel to manufacture battery cells for Ford Commercial Pro EVs.",{"type":570,"attrs":709,"content":710},{"textAlign":49},[711],{"text":712,"type":575},"All Ford Commercial Pros manufactured at Blue Oval will qualify for the IRA’s full $7,500 tax credit, Drake said.","Ford signed five lithium supply agreements with both the world’s largest producers SQM and Albemarle as well as with three smaller companies, to back its goal to produce 2 million vehicles a year by 2026 with raw materials that are eligible for US government tax credits. Ford EVs with batteries containing lithium supplied by the […]",[715],{"slug":558,"name":559,"content":716},{"job_title":561,"image":717,"bio":564,"linkedin":565},{"filename":563},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"54701b08-f0f8-4c9e-93e1-c8de94cc559e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[721,724,727,730,732],{"slug":722,"name":723},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":725,"name":726},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":728,"name":729},"gigafactories","Battery & Gigafactory",{"slug":731,"name":8},"lithium",{"slug":733,"name":150},"nickel","private",{"id":49,"alt":736,"name":736,"focus":736,"title":736,"source":736,"filename":737,"copyright":736,"fieldtype":738,"meta_data":739,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9cafb7e5c3/bm-21-frd-mch-48104.jpg","asset",{"alt":736,"title":736,"source":736,"copyright":736},"May 23, 2023","23rd May 2023",[],[],1780670074878]