[Li-battery : l'Inde envisage un plan d'incitation de 1,4 milliard de dollars pour les composants de batteries avancées]

SMM Sep 29: Prairie Lithium has secured C$6.3 million in federal financing for its Saskatchewan project through the Business Scale-up and Productivity Program, administered by Prairies Economic Development Canada. The funds will support Phase 1 production, including balance-of-plant systems for a commercial-scale direct lithium extraction (DLE) plant. Repayments are interest-free and start in 2029. Phase 1 targets 150 mt/y of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) as lithium chloride from oilfield brine, with the entire volume covered by an offtake agreement with Hydro Lithium. First brine production is expected in Q4 2026, which would make Prairie Lithium Canada's first commercial-scale lithium producer from oilfield brine.

On Sept 28(th), Gotion High-Tech will invest €1.1 billion ($1.25 billion) for a 49% stake in PowerCo's Valencia plant in Spain, which will become a European production hub for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. PowerCo, which remains the majority shareholder of the plant, will invest €470 million for a 49% stake in each of two Gotion sites: a cell factory in Šurany, Slovakia, and a new cathode material facility in Kenitra, Morocco. The companies said the agreements are part of a broader plan to jointly develop a European battery supply chain.

On the 30th of September, Liontown Resources on approved an A$389 million (about $271.68 million) expansion of its Kathleen Valley lithium mine in Western Australia. The company raised its FY2027 total capital expenditure guidance to A$435-495 million, up from A$320-370 million, an increase of about 35% at the midpoint. The higher guidance includes A$175-195 million of Kathleen Valley expansion capital scheduled for FY2027. This expansion is expected to lift average spodumene concentrate output to about 780,000 dmt per year from FY2030. The company kept its FY2027 spodumene concentrate production guidance unchanged at 390,000-440,000 dmt, so the added volumes fall after the current guidance period.