Mineral Extarction in the Dead Sea (Wikipedia)
ICL (formerly Israel Chemicals Ltd.) an Israel-based global specialty minerals company, is set to build a $400 million lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material (CAM) manufacturing plant in St. Louis. ICL stated that this is expected to be the first large-scale LFP material manufacturing plant in the United States.
The company was awarded $197 million for the project through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, which is subject to the completion of negotiations with the Department of Energy. The plant is expected to be operational by 2024 and will produce high-quality LFP material for the global lithium battery industry, using primarily a domestic supply chain.
ICL said that the LFP plant represents a significant expansion of ICL’s energy storage portfolio and demonstrates the company’s commitment to developing high-quality specialty products for agricultural, food, and industrial applications.
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“LFP is a critical solution for the U.S. energy-storage, mobility, and infrastructure market,” said Phil Brown, president of Phosphate Specialties and managing director of North America for ICL. “The $197 million investment from the Department of Energy is crucial to building a domestic manufacturer, which can compete globally while providing a much-needed safety net for American manufacturers in the EV, battery, and energy-storage industries.”
ICL’s 120,000-square-foot LFP plant is expected to have two production lines built in two phases under a single roof. Each production line will be capable of producing 15,000 metric tons of LFP material per year. Phase one is expected to be complete by 2024, and full production of 30,000 metric tons is expected by 2025. The new plant will be located on ICL’s existing Carondelet campus in St. Louis.
ICL partners for the project will include Aleees, which will provide the state-of-the-art LFP process technology, and McCarthy, which will oversee the management of general contracting and is also based in St. Louis. The local community will benefit not only through more than 150 high-paying union and professional jobs, but also as ICL expands its active role in developing the next generation of ICL employees.
ICL is a recipient of the first set of projects funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and the electrical grid and for materials and components currently imported from other countries. Responsible and sustainable domestic sourcing and processing of the critical materials used to make lithium-ion batteries will strengthen American supply chains, accelerate battery production to meet increased demand, and secure the nation’s economic competitiveness, energy independence, and national security. The funding by the Department of Energy is the first phase of over $7 billion in total provided by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the battery supply chain.
ICL Group creates solutions for humanity’s sustainability challenges in the global food, agriculture and industrial markets. ICL shares are dually listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (NYSE and TASE: ICL). The company employs more than 12,000 people worldwide, and its 2021 revenues totaled approximately $7 billion.
