American Battery Technology Company (OTCQB:ABML) (ABTC) said it will receive funding to expand the US manufacturing of battery-grade lithium hydroxide for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, with a focus on domestic materials processing and components currently imported from other countries.
ABTC said that – along with grant partners DuPont (NYSE:DD) Water Solutions, University of Nevada, Reno, and Argonne National Laboratory – it was awarded US$57 million from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to design and operate a $115 million commercial-scale facility.
This is part of the first phase of over $7 billion provided by the US President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the battery supply chain. ABCT, along with DuPont (NYSE:DD) and the University of Nevada, previously received a $4.5 million grant from the DOE in 2021, to build a multi-ton per day demonstration system.
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The plan is to manufacture battery cathode-grade lithium hydroxide from unconventional Nevada-based lithium-bearing sedimentary resources.
By demonstrating this low-cost and low-environmental impact process, the US lithium resource base can be expanded. According to ABTC, this would allow the US battery manufacturing supply chain to operate in a self-sustaining closed loop.
The award was announced at the White House, which included a conversation about the importance of this project between President Joe Biden, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, and ABTC CEO Ryan Melsert.
"We are honored and excited to be selected for this investment from the US government to accelerate the construction and commissioning of our first-of-kind commercial scale lithium refinery to manufacture battery-grade metals from Nevada-based sedimentary claystone resources," Melsert said in a statement.
"The US has unfortunately been essentially a non-player in the lithium manufacturing industry in recent decades, and while the nation has established large amounts of multi-billion-dollar electrical vehicle and lithium-ion battery factories in recent years, nearly 100% of the lithium materials that feed these facilities are imported from foreign countries," he added.
The majority of lithium products manufactured globally use brines or hard rock ores as feedstock material, and less than 1% of these lithium products come from within the US, according to the company.
In addition to securing a US supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, the project will provide local jobs, infrastructure improvements, educational opportunities, and other economic developments.
Building off its partnership with the University of Nevada, ABTC said it would work to expand STEM education for disadvantaged communities and student internship opportunities.
University president Brian Sandoval said ABTC demonstrates leadership in developing technology and will provide a new energy economy on the campus.
"Through the creation of jobs and internships, they are giving new experiences to our students and contributing to the preparedness and diversity of our future scientists and the nation," Sandoval said in a statement.
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