The project will have the capacity to produce 275 GWh of power, and 24 000 t of LHM, enough for ca. 500 000 battery electric vehicles, per annum.
Key points
- The company has signed a binding offtake agreement to supply Glencore between 36 000 t and 44 000 t of LHM over the duration of an initial eight-year period.
- Glencore is a multinational commodity trading and mining company headquartered in Switzerland. It produces and markets more than 60 commodities through approximately 60 assets and has offices in over 30 countries.
- Glencore joins Stellantis, Umicore, and LG Energy Solution as the company’s offtake partners for Phase One and represents the final offtake agreement required for Phase One project financing. All agreements are binding, take-or-pay, and with agreed pricing mechanisms across six to ten years duration. The pricing mechanisms are a basket of fixed, floor-ceiling, and index-based floating prices during the proposed debt payback period.
- The agreement with Glencore also gives the company the flexibility until 31 December 2026 to place some or all of the Glencore volumes with other European customers, with Glencore providing a sales agent service in this case. The company is in discussions with multiple other potential customers, including German and European automakers, who have expressed interest in taking further volumes from Phase One.
- The company is targeting to finalise its Phase One financing package, together with project and financing agreements, in Q4 2025, before commencing construction of the commercial plants.
Vulcan Energy’s Managing Director and CEO, Cris Moreno, commented: “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.
“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.”
Glencore’s Head of Lithium, Robin Francois, commented: “We are pleased to partner with Vulcan to help support the development of the German and wider European lithium supply chain.
“This new agreement with Vulcan will further expand our lithium portfolio and reinforce our position as one of the leading suppliers of battery raw materials.”