Vulcan Energy Resources and Nobian have announced today that they have signed a term sheet for a proposed strategic partnership aiming to jointly develop and operate a lithium hydroxide plant for electric vehicle batteries in Germany. This builds on 15 months of collaboration between the two firms but is not legally binding on the two parties in most respects.

Umicore has signed separate five-year, renewable lithium supply agreements with two companies, Ganfeng Lithium of Jiangxi, China, and Vulcan Energy Resources of Karlsruhe, Germany. Both are integral to its cathode business and to its own environmental commitment.

The agreement with Ganfeng Lithium will come into effect in 2022 and will cover a significant part of Umicore’s future lithium requirements in Asia. The lithium is mined from hard-rock deposits in Australia under strict sustainability standards.