US-based specialist Mangrove Lithium plans to significantly expand its refining capacity in North America with a second facility. The company has already signed memoranda of understanding with several US battery factories – but has yet to choose a location.
The new plant is expected to offer an annual production capacity of 20,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium – enough for the batteries of over 500,000 electric vehicles – making it 20 times larger than the company’s first facility, which is scheduled to go into operation by the end of 2025. Mangrove cites “geopolitical shifts” as the reason for this major expansion, driving up demand for lithium from Western sources.
The company has already signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with “multiple leading US battery gigafactories” to secure offtake from the new plant. According to Mangrove, these deals cover 20,000 tonnes of lithium. However, the announcement does not specify whether this volume is per year or in total. In any case, they remain MoUs rather than binding offtake agreements – but there appears to be genuine interest.
No further details yet on new facility
“These MoUs reflect the accelerating interest from global customers who recognize Mangrove as a strategic partner in securing lithium supply,” said Saad Dara, CEO and founder of Mangrove Lithium.
Annie Liu, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer at Mangrove, added “Having negotiated deals for automakers like Tesla and Ford, I’ve seen firsthand how critical it is to have a reliable Western lithium supply chain—and that’s exactly what Mangrove delivers.”
The reason these are currently only non-binding agreements is simple: the new facility remains in the planning stage. The announcement only specifies the intended production capacity and confirms it will be built in North America. Mangrove has not yet decided on a country, US state or Canadian province. No information has been provided on construction costs, financing or a timeline.
The new plant will also differ from the first facility, still under construction. “The new plant will integrate spodumene concentrate processing, extending Mangrove’s electrochemical processing flowsheet upstream,” the company stated. “This marks a critical step toward reshoring parts of the lithium value chain that are currently dominated by Chinese processing infrastructure.”
Following a successful US$35 million funding round, Mangrove has already begun building its first commercial facility in Delta, British Columbia. The project is set to start operations later this year, with enough capacity to produce lithium for around 25,000 electric vehicles annually.
BMW became the lead investor in Mangrove Lithium in 2022 through its venture capital arm BMW i Ventures. The Canadian company has developed a process to convert both new and recycled raw lithium into battery-grade material.
