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Cutting global warming depends on electricity transmission. Electrification transport depends on mining and processing a handful of minerals. The most popular of these minerals is lithium. Albemarle Corporation is the world’s #1 supplier of lithium for EV batteries. For the state of North Carolina, that should be interesting since Albemarle is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is noteworthy that by 2021, 41% of Albemarle’s revenue will come from lithium. Now, Albemarle is drilling (named) in the Tar Heel State to advance lithium production and doing more. The mining giant has announced plans to invest $180 million or more to create the Albemarle Technology Park (ATP) in Charlotte, North Carolina.
I want to take us on a tangent about how all this relates to my life. If you are not interested, skip the italics. I earned my master’s degree from North Carolina – Chapel Hill, home of the Tar Heels. Also, at the moment, I’m obsessed with tennis, and the acronym for the International Men’s Tennis Association is ATP. Also, as it turns out, my favorite tennis player lives in North Carolina (when he’s not on the road, which is always nice). Of course, covering electric vehicles for more than a decade, I’m well aware that the story of EVs now comes down mainly to batteries, batteries, batteries. Hence my eagerness to cover this story early on Christmas Eve.
Albemarle Technology Park’s mission is to be a “world-class facility dedicated to new materials research, advanced process development and acceleration to market for next-generation lithium products.” This includes lithium recovery (often referred to broadly and crudely as ore), lithium production (various processing methods), and the creation of new forms of lithium. wait what Yes, this is likely part of the plan – “Introduce new types of lithium to enable breakthroughs in battery performance.” let’s see.
Albemarle Technology Park rendering (PRNewsfoto/Albemarle Corporation)
Albemarle is a stable, big player in the mining world. One does not expect grandiose or hyperbolic statements from the company. Apparently, however, he wants to build bigger operations and ramp up lithium production at the Albemarle Technology Park in North Carolina. I am sure many of us would love to visit such a place. It seems a little like Disney World for EV battery geeks.
It’s likely no coincidence that Albemarle is looking to invest more in the United States after the passage of the 2022 Depreciation Act. “The Albemarle Technology Park is part of our mine-to-market innovation strategy to invest in US EV batteries. “To be a leader in supply chain and advanced lithium materials for the next generation of energy storage,” Albemarle CEO Kent Masters said. Battery makers and automakers are looking for new battery projects in the States, and this technology park should help some of them, or help stimulate some of them.
Albemarle is not doing this all by itself. He received a $13 million investment from the state to help get the project off the ground.
“Albemarle’s work on lithium battery-related products will advance North Carolina’s leadership in the clean energy economy over the next generation,” said Governor Cooper. “Reducing carbon emissions is good for our environment and good for our economy” (That’s the kind of language you’d only get from a Democratic governor. North Carolina, don’t miss out on such a gem.
Here are a few more details about the park, its goals and origins: “The incentive package is part of a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) that supports a portion of Albemarle’s investment to transform a former IBM and Flextronics facility. The company is estimated to create at least 200 jobs at the site, with an average annual salary of $94,000. In particular, the group intends to triple the number of Ph.D. Professionals at the Albemarle Technology Park.
Follow it. It seems inevitable that we will get news about this lithium tech park in the coming years. The current goal is Work is expected to begin in early 2025 and the campus will be completed by late 2026.
Featured Image: Albemarle Technology Park Rendering (PRNewsfoto/Albemarle Corporation)
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