Chilean lithium miner SQM, the world’s second largest lithium producer, announced that it has reached a long-term supply agreement with automakers Hyundai and Kia. This agreement will provide automakers with the white metal essential for the production of electric vehicle batteries.
According to reports from Reuters, Hyundai and Kia will secure a portion of their future supply of lithium hydroxide from SQM, according to the statement from the miner, which had previously signed supply agreements with Ford Motors and battery manufacturer LG Energy. SQM did not reveal the financial details of the agreement with the Korean automakers, but indicated that there is a “strong motivation to continue with its lithium hydroxide expansion plan.”
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SQM’s current capacity in Chile to produce lithium hydroxide, derived from lithium carbonate, is 40,000 metric tons per year, according to its first quarter results. The company is on track to increase production in Chile to 100,000 tonnes by 2025 and is also expanding capacity in China and Australia.
At the end of May, SQM signed an agreement with the Chilean state mining company Codelco to form a joint venture that will allow SQM to increase production until 2060 in the Salar de Atacama, one of the most valuable areas in the world for the extraction of lithi
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