In recent months, Chilean mining company Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) has secured several major long-term lithium supply agreements with leading automakers as they race to secure battery raw materials for their electric vehicle ambitions.
In a significant deal announced on June 17, 2024, SQM revealed it had entered into a lithium hydroxide supply contract with South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia. The agreement will see the carmakers source some of their future lithium hydroxide requirements from SQM as they accelerate their EV plans. Hyundai and Kia selected SQM after considering its growth plans, operational capabilities, technical expertise, quality standards, and environmentally sustainable production methods.
This follows another major lithium supply deal SQM inked in May 2023 with Ford Motor Company to provide battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide for the automaker’s electric vehicles. The deal, which sources from SQM’s Chilean operations, aims to help Ford’s EVs qualify for U.S. tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.
SQM has also strengthened its partnership with major EV battery maker LG Energy Solution. In July 2023, the two companies announced a new long-term agreement for SQM to supply LG Energy Solution with over 100,000 metric tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide from 2023 to 2029. The deal replaces and significantly expands upon a previous contract between the firms.
The lithium supply agreements come as SQM aims to rapidly increase its production of battery-grade lithium chemicals. The company is partnering with Chilean state miner Codelco to ramp up output from the Atacama salt flat, targeting an additional 300,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent production by 2030.
About SQM
Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) is a leading Chilean chemical company and one of the world’s largest lithium, iodine, and potassium nitrate producers. Founded in 1968, SQM extracts and refines minerals from caliche ore and brine deposits in northern Chile to produce products for agriculture, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, and technology.
