Arcadium Lithium has acquired the lithium metal business of Li-Metal in an $11 million all-cash deal that includes the company’s intellectual property and physical assets related to lithium metal production, including a pilot production facility in Ontario, Canada.

The acquisition is expected to provide a safer, lower cost and more sustainable process for lithium metal production using various grades of lithium carbonate feedstock, which Arcadium produces in Argentina. These new capabilities will complement the company’s process technologies for producing lithium metal at its Bessemer City site in North Carolina, using concentrated lithium chloride from its Güemes facility in Salta, Argentina.

Arcadium uses lithium metal to manufacture lithium specialty products, including high-purity lithium metal (HPM) and LIOVIX, a printable lithium metal formulation for primary battery applications and next-generation batteries. Arcadium also processes lithium metal into butyllithium, which is used in the manufacturing of lightweight tires among other applications.

“The ability to produce lithium metal from lithium carbonate will give us additional flexibility to utilize our vertically integrated network of assets while reducing the need for third-party lithium metal,” said Paul Graves, CEO of Arcadium Lithium. “This will further enhance the competitiveness of our butyllithium and lithium specialty chemicals business and help us create the scale needed to meet the growing demand for next-generation battery materials developed from lithium metal.”

Source: Arcadium Lithium