LG Energy Solution locks in Quebec spodumene supply from Elevra
The battery maker will take spodumene concentrate from Elevra's operating Quebec project under a multi-year deal.
Published
LG Energy Solution has agreed to a multi-year supply of spodumene concentrate from Elevra, a North American lithium producer with projects in Quebec, the United States and a joint venture in Western Australia, the company said. The concentrate will come from Elevra's Quebec project, which is already producing.
Elevra's own release puts the contracted base volume at 240,000 dry metric tonnes, phased in as 30,000 tonnes in 2026, 60,000 tonnes in each of 2027 and 2028, and 90,000 tonnes in 2029, over a three-year term, with an option for up to 90,000 additional tonnes. That schedule differs from LG Energy Solution's own description of the agreement as a flat 240,000-tonne deal running four years.
Kang Yeol Lee, LG Energy Solution's Procurement Center Leader, said the agreement is an important step in strengthening North American raw material supply and supporting growth in the energy storage system market. LG Energy Solution runs five standalone and joint venture battery facilities in North America supplying customers with lithium iron phosphate batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles. The company has made similar commitments before: in 2023 it signed a 200,000-tonne spodumene offtake agreement with Piedmont, a deal of comparable size to the new one with Elevra.
The arrangement gives LG Energy Solution a North American feedstock source that sits outside China's dominant lithium processing chain, a gap battery makers have had to address as they expand energy storage and EV cell output. Because the Quebec project is already in production rather than still under construction, the deal avoids the execution risk that has weighed on other junior miners' offtake agreements. It also adds to a run of recent supply contracts between North American lithium producers and battery makers, a sign that efforts to diversify raw material sourcing are moving from announcements toward binding, multi-year commitments.