Vulcan Energy Resources has entered into an eight-year binding purchase agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of commodities group Glencore for the supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM). Under the deal, Glencore will receive between 36,000 and 44,000 tonnes of LHM over the contract term, making it Vulcan’s fourth major offtake partner.
This agreement completes the offtake package required to finance the first phase of Vulcan’s “Lionheart” project, which targets an annual production capacity of 24,000 tonnes of LHM—sufficient for roughly 500,000 electric vehicle batteries. Glencore joins automaker Stellantis, battery maker LG Energy Solution and cathode producer Umicore as key partners for Phase One. By comparison, the Stellantis contract secures 81,000 to 99,000 tonnes, LG Energy Solution’s deal covers 41,000 to 50,000 tonnes, and Umicore’s agreement provides for 28,000 to 42,000 tonnes.
If all four agreements were to reach their maximum volumes, Vulcan could commit up to 235,000 tonnes of LHM—equivalent to nearly ten years of planned output. However, the company remains in a pilot phase: in January 2025, it completed the first fully integrated European production of battery-grade LHM at its Central Lithium Electrolysis Optimisation Plant (CLEOP) in Frankfurt-Höchst. The precursor lithium chloride concentrate is filtered from thermal water at the company’s Landau Lithium Extraction Optimisation Plant (LEOP), then converted to LHM at CLEOP.
Both pilot plants operate at a 1:50 scale and will be succeeded by a commercial production facility in Frankfurt-Höchst, for which Vulcan secured a building permit in September. The company expects to finalize financing for the Lionheart project in the fourth quarter of 2025 and to commence construction shortly thereafter.
“We welcome the start of a long-term relationship with Glencore. With this agreement- a key requirement for Phase One financing – Vulcan has now achieved a good mix of offtake partners for Phase One lithium production: an automaker, a battery maker, a cathode manufacturer, and a commodities trader, all with a strong European focus,” said Cris Moreno, Managing Director and CEO of Vulcan Energy. “The agreement also gives Vulcan the flexibility to bring in further European customers in the future, while also utilising Glencore’s expertise in this market, which is a value-add to Vulcan.”
Source: electrive
