ICL, a global specialty minerals company, celebrated the groundbreaking of its battery materials manufacturing plant in St. Louis, which is expected to be the first large-scale lithium iron phosphate (LFP) facility in the US. The $400-million facility is planned to be operational by 2025 and will help meet growing demand from the energy storage, electric vehicle (EV) and clean-energy industries for US-produced-and-sourced essential battery materials.
ICL’s investment in the plant was augmented by a $197-million grant from the US Department of Energy. (Earlier post.)
The 140,000-square-foot facility is expected to produce 30,000 metric tons of LFP and will serve as the foundation for the company’s global battery materials business. The plant will have two production lines built in dual phases under a single roof. Each production line will be capable of producing 15,000 tonnes per year of LFP powder.
The new plant will be located on ICL’s existing Carondelet campus in St. Louis, which is recognized by the Justice40 Initiative as a disadvantaged community.
The project will create 800 to 900 union construction positions, and ICL has engaged St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Companies as general contractor for the project. ICL is also partnering with Aleees to establish a localized, integrated and sustainable LFP supply chain for US-based customers. Taiwan-based Aleees is a long-standing LFP battery material manufacturer and global IP licensor.
LFP technology offers superior safety at a lower cost and with a longer life. By 2031, E Source forecasts global demand for iron phosphate-based cathode active materials will reach more than 3 million tons, for a market value of more than $40 billion, due to a shift toward the safer and lower-cost cathode materials used in more affordable EVs and in energy storage solutions.
The new facility represents a significant expansion of ICL’s energy-storage portfolio and demonstrates the company’s commitment to developing high-quality specialty products for agricultural, food, energy and industrial applications.
