Element 25 (E25) has agreed with Veolia North America to secure a site for its planned high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) refinery in Louisiana.

The plant will have the capacity to produce 135,000 tons of HPMSM annually for US EV battery manufacturing, in partnership with automakers GM and Stellantis. GM has committed $85 million in debt financing to the project.

The site is located next to a sulfuric acid production and regeneration facility owned and operated by Veolia, which will provide the facility with a local source of raw material supply. Veolia will supply sulfuric acid at agreed contract rates over a 20-year term via a pipeline.

E25 operates the Butcherbird Manganese Project in Western Australia and is in the process of expanding its production to approximately 1.1 million tons per year of medium-grade, high-silica manganese ore.

“Construction of our HPMSM facility in the US requires a project site with the necessary services and utilities and access to sulfuric acid as a key reagent, to allow the project to proceed,” said Element 25’s Managing Director Justin Brown.

Source: Element 25