LFP cathode plant for Morocco

LG Chem and China’s Huayou Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a 45,359 tonne (50,000 ton) annually lithium-phosphate-iron (LFP) plant in Morocco with mass production targeted for 2026.

The parties will work together to build a total of four facilities, including a conversion plant there to transform lithium concentrate into lithium for cathode materials, while a nickel processing (high-pressure acid leaching) plant and a precursor plant are planned in Indonesia.

“We will actively respond to the emerging LFP cathode material market with the Morocco plant as our global base,” says LG Chem chief executive Shin Hak-cheol.

“Our goal is to create a strong, vertically integrated material supply chain – flowing from raw materials to precursors and cathode materials – and solidify our status as the world’s top comprehensive battery materials producer.”

Huayou Group’s subsidiary Youshan will build the Morocco LFP cathode material plant where enough should be produced annually for 500,000 entry-class electric vehicles (with a 50kWh capacity and a 350km range).

LFP cathode materials produced at the Morocco plant will be supplied to the North American market and subsidised by the US Reduction Act (IRA) as Morocco is a signatory to the US Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

LG Chem will venture into the LFP cathode materials business based on the Morocco plant and expand the business into lithium-manganese-phosphate-iron (LMFP) cathode materials, a mixture of manganese and LFP that LG Chem says provide more capacity and better output than LFP cathode materials.

LG Chem will also promote the lithium conversion plant business with Huayou Cobalt in Morocco. A conversion plant is a facility that extracts lithium hydroxides and lithium carbonates, both essential for producing cathode materials from lithium concentrates. The lithium conversion plant is expected to mass-produce 52,000 tons of lithium annually by 2025 and supply that it to the LFP plant.

In addition to the plants in Morocco, LG Chem and Huayou Cobalt agreed to cooperate in Indonesia, which is actively promoting the battery manufacturing and EV sector based on its cost competitiveness as it has the world’s largest nickel reserves and production.

LG Chem and Huayou Cobalt will work together for the vertical integration of the cathode materials supply chain.

The companies are also considering the establishment of a precursor plant in Indonesia with an annual production capacity of 45,359 tonnes (50,000 tons). They will discuss the construction of a plant to extract mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) from nickel ore for precursor production too.