An Australian lithium specialist, Lake Resources, has signed a MoU with Ford to negotiate for lithium offtake from Lake’s Kachi (Argentina) project.
The offtake proposal is for approximately 25,000 tonnes per annum of lithium from the Kachi project.
Lake said a strategic collaboration between Ford and Lake will sit alongside the collaboration with Hanwa to fully develop a ‘Clean Lithium Supply Chain’ to meet the global environmental demands for Electric Vehicles.
“As we’ve shared, Ford is sourcing deeper into the battery supply chain,” said Lisa Drake, Ford’s vice president, EV Industrialization.
“This is one of several agreements we’re exploring to help us secure raw materials to support our aggressive EV acceleration,” she said. “Both Lake and Ford see this as an opportunity for a potential long-term agreement with the ability to scale up environmentally responsible production and participate in Lake’s other projects to ensure high-quality lithium products are available to Ford,” Steve Promnitz, Lake’s Managing Director, said.
“This MoU with Ford supports Lake’s strategy to be a key independent supplier into global lithium supply chains and ensure the security of supply to customers.”
Lake’s Chairman Stu Crow said project financing was becoming increasingly tied to ESG credentials and that investors, debt providers, and off-takers and their customers are demanding that new lithium projects adhere to strict ESG standards.
“Increasing customer and consumer scrutiny around lithium production’s environmental and ethical credentials drives our focus on sustainable extraction,” Crow said.
“Lake Resources is committed to integrating sustainable development practices throughout our operations, minimising our environmental footprint, and contributing to a clean energy future.
“This MoU with Ford follows the Hanwa MoU. Together with the UK and Canada Export Credit Agencies’ indicative provision of debt finance for around 70 percent of the Kachi project’s capital requirements, this provides a framework of support for Lake’s TARGET 100 Program, which has the goal of producing annually 100,000 tonnes of high purity lithium chemical to market by 2030,” he said.