GM, Element 25 Team Up to Expand EV Supply Chain in US
DETROIT – General Motors Co. and Element 25 Limited are partnering to supply up to 32,500 metric tons of manganese sulfate annually to support the annual production of more than 1 million GM EVs in North America.
Under the agreement announced Monday, GM will provide Element 25 with an $85 million loan to partially fund the construction of a new plant in Louisiana for production of battery-grade manganese sulfate, a key component in lithium-ion battery cathodes.
Element 25 will produce manganese sulfate at the plant by processing manganese concentrate from its mining operations in Australia.
“GM is scaling EV production in North America well past 1 million units annually, and our direct investments in battery raw materials, processing and components for EVs are providing certainty of supply, favorable commercial terms and thousands of new jobs, especially in the U.S., Canada and free trade agreement countries like Australia,” Doug Parks, executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain for GM, said in a news release.
“The facility E25 will build in Louisiana is significant because it’s expected to be the first plant in the United States to produce battery-grade manganese sulfate, a key component of cathode active material, which helps improve EV battery cell cost,” Parks said.
Element 25 expects to invest about $290 million to build the 230,000-square-foot plant. Site preparation is planned to begin in the third quarter of 2023, and the plant is scheduled to open in 2025. The plant is projected to create about 200 permanent jobs when it is fully operational.
“E25 is working to be a leading source of high quality, vertically integrated, traceable and ESG-compliant battery material to the global electric vehicle industry, and GM’s support does more than accelerate our expansion in the United States,” said Justin Brown, Element 25’s managing director. Together, we are creating a resilient and sustainable North American supply chain that will help introduce millions of customers to the performance and environmental benefits of EVs.”
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