Albemarle announces plans to triple refined capacity by 2030, though warns of growing supply deficit without further industry support

On the 24th of January, Lithium major Albemarle presented its 2023 strategic plan, detailing several expansions across its existing lithium asset suite and the development of new capacity.  Albemarle plans to increase lithium conversion capacity across its facilities to between 500-600kt LCE by 2030, compared to 200ktpy LCE reported in 2022.  Expansions at the Kemerton facility in Australia, along with the Meishan and Qinzhou plants in China will fulfil much of this planned growth, though Albemarle intends to commission further capacity at two new brine assets; Magnolia in the USA and Antofallo in Argentina, along with two ‘Mega-flex’ processing facilities in the USA and EU.  The US Mega-flex plant, expected to start production between 2025 and 2027, will process feedstock from the Kings Mountain mine in North Carolina, USA, which is scheduled for commissioning between 2026 and 2027.  No specific feedstock source for the EU Mega-flex facility has been announced to date, with Albemarle indicating they continue to look for resources to support the project. There are a number of mineral resources being developed in the EU and Africa that are expected to come online by the end of the decade. These could be potential sources for this EU Mega-flex facility.

Despite the potential tripling of capacity targeted by Albemarle over the next eight years, the strategic plan highlighted the need for further expansions from other parties.  Albemarle forecasts global lithium demand will increase to 3.7Mt LCE by 2030, with a supply deficit of 800kt LCE (~20% of the market) forming by the end of the decade.  In addition to the growing demand deficit, Albemarle anticipates lithium prices will remain elevated because of delays to new projects, the targeting of lower grade ‘traditional’ deposits and the development of ‘novel’ lithium deposits such as clay and brines requiring DLE.