US electric vehicle manufacturer Stellantis and Australian manganese producer Element 25 have signed a binding agreement for the supply of battery grade, high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate for use in electric vehicle (EV) battery packs.

As part of its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Stellantis previously announced plans of reaching 100% of passenger car BEV sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States by 2030. This five-year manganese sulphate supply agreement calls for shipments to begin in 2026, a total volume of 45 kilotons, and options to extend the supply term and volumes. Element 25 will source the material from its Butcherbird project in Western Australia and plans to construct a processing facility in the United States.

It is noteworthy that Stellantis will make an equity investment in Element 25 but subject to a term sheet that is conditional on satisfactory completion of technical due diligence and a feasibility study. As with many recent materials supply agreements the degree to which a memorandum of understanding becomes a letter of intent becomes a “binding” offtake agreement is very much in the drafting. Nonetheless, this agreement does point to the rising importance of manganese-based cathode chemistries for future lithium-ion battery technologies. And in turn, the requirement to quickly scale additional capacity for the processing of battery grade, high purity manganese sulphate.