Albemarle’s Kent Masters says economics do not support pivot away from Asia on commodities in EV supply chains
Albemarle, the world’s largest lithium producer, says it is not economically viable to build a supply chain in North America and Europe that could wrest control of critical minerals from China. Kent Masters, chief executive of the US-based group, told the Financial Times that the “returns are not there” to pivot supply of the commodity, which is crucial for the electric vehicle industry, to the west because of low lithium prices and high operating costs. “We were trying to pivot to the west . .
The company plans to spend $800mn-$900mn in capital expenditures globally next year, about half of this year’s spending. The slowdown from Albemarle comes as producers report lower profits and pull back on expansion plans. In August, Piedmont Lithium scrapped its plans to build an $800mn refinery in Tennessee. In September, International Battery Metals suspended operations at its lithium plant in Utah two months after it started production.
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