Lilac signs 10-year deal with Traxys to supply lithium from Utah project

Lilac Solutions has signed a binding 10-year offtake agreement with Traxys North America to supply lithium carbonate from Lilac’s planned Great Salt Lake facility in Utah, the companies said on Monday.

The deal comes as the US races to secure domestic sources of lithium, a critical component for electric vehicle batteries, amid growing concerns over reliance on imports from China and other countries.

Under the deal, commodity merchant Traxys will buy 50,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate over the period, representing 100% of the project’s Phase 1 output. Lilac aims to begin supplying Traxys by late 2027.

The facility is designed to produce 5,000 tonnes per year in the first phase, nearly doubling current US lithium carbonate output.

The California-based Lilac said the engineering is complete and permitting is underway.

A future Phase 2 expansion would bring the total capacity to 20,000 tonnes per annum, it said.

(By Sumit Saha; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)