SYDNEY, July 31,
2022 /PRNewswire/ --
Highlights:
- Lithium from ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge project in Nevada will be supplied directly to Prime
Planet Energy & Solutions, Inc. ("PPES")
- In support of end-to-end U.S. Electrified Vehicle supply chain
and delivering on ioneer's initiatives, lithium supplied by ioneer
will be produced, refined and incorporated into lithium-ion
batteries by PPES, which will promote electrification in the U.S.
Market
- The 5-year binding Agreement is for a total of 4,000 tonnes per
annum of lithium carbonate from ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge
Lithium-Boron operation in Nevada
and represents approximately 19% of annual output in the first 5
years of production
- Prime Planet Energy & Solutions is a joint venture battery
company between Toyota Motor Corporation and Panasonic
Corporation
ioneer's Executive Chairman, James
Calaway, said:
"ioneer is grateful to announce another key milestone for our
company with a lithium carbonate offtake agreement with PPES. PPES
is a world-class organisation and we look forward to being their
trusted partner. This and the previously announced Ford and EcoPro
agreements solidify ioneer's focus on the U.S. Electric Vehicle
supply chain infrastructure. We look forward to providing lithium
materials to PPES and all our offtake partners for their growth in
the EV global market."
PPES's President, Hiroaki Koda
said:
"I am delighted to have a great partnership with ioneer in
the battery supply chain, that can promote vehicle electrification
toward realizing a carbon-neutral society. Having an agreement with
ioneer provides PPES a first step in securing a U.S. supply of
lithium, one of the most important parts for corresponding with the
fast growing electrified vehicle industry. We have confidence in
ioneer's technology of refining sedimentary sourced lithium and
their competitiveness, and are expecting it to strengthen the PPES
supply chain."
ioneer Ltd ("ioneer" or "the Company") (ASX: INR, NASDAQ:
IONR), an emerging lithium–boron supplier, is pleased to
announce it has signed a binding offtake supply agreement
("Agreement") with the Prime Planet Energy & Solutions ("PPES")
joint venture between Toyota Motor Corporation ("Toyota") and
Panasonic Corporation ("Panasonic"), in which ioneer will supply
PPES with lithium carbonate from its Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron
Project ("Rhyolite Ridge") in Nevada.
PPES is a battery production company established through
joint-investment between Toyota, the world's largest automotive
manufacturer by revenue, and Panasonic, a leading battery
manufacturer.
Under the Agreement, ioneer will deliver 4,000 tons per annum
(tpa) of lithium carbonate to PPES over a 5-year term. PPES will
utilise ioneer's lithium carbonate to produce batteries for use in
U.S. electric vehicles.
ioneer is expected to produce an annual average of approximately
20,600 tonnes of lithium carbonate/hydroxide along with
approximately 174,400 tonnes of boric acid per year over the
Rhyolite Ridge project's 26-year life1. The dual
production of lithium and boric acid allows ioneer to not only
produce lithium in the U.S., but to do so at the very bottom of the
global cost curve. ioneer anticipates commencing production in 2025
to support urgent requirements for battery materials in
the United States.
This Agreement follows the two earlier binding offtake
agreements2,3 and, in total represents the completion of
pre-production lithium carbonate supply commitments it currently
intends to make for Rhyolite Ridge.
Key terms of the Agreement with PPES include:
- Product: Lithium carbonate
- Contract Duration: 5 Years
- Volume: 4,000 tpa
- Price: Adjusted quarterly based on agreed price
formula
- Currency: USD per metric ton
- Conditions Precedent: ioneer's Final Investment
Decision
This ASX release has been authorised by ioneer Managing
Director, Bernard Rowe.
Contacts
Matt
Dempsey
FTI
Consulting
|
Alex Cowie
NRW Communications
|
Investor & Media
Relations (USA)
|
Investor & Media
Relations (AUS)
|
T: +1 202-412-4241
|
T: +61 412 952
610
|
E:
matt.dempsey@fticonsulting.com
|
E:
alexc@nwrcommunications.com.au
|
About ioneer
ioneer Ltd is the 100% owner of the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron
Project located in Nevada, USA,
the only known lithium-boron deposit in North America and one of only two known such
deposits in the world. The Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS)
completed in 2020 confirmed Rhyolite Ridge as a world-class lithium
and boron project that is expected to become a globally
significant, long-life, low-cost source of lithium and boron vital
to a sustainable future. In September
2021, ioneer entered a 50/50 joint venture agreement with
Sibanye Stillwater Ltd to advance the Rhyolite Ridge project.
ioneer will be the operator of the Project, which is expected to
come onstream in 2025.
About Prime Planet Energy and Solutions
Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES) is a leading
developer and manufacturer of prismatic lithium-ion batteries,
primarily for automotive applications. PPES offers optimum
solutions that meet the needs of our customers using top-class
products with industry-leading safety, quality, and performance,
which have been developed and nurtured with the cooperation of an
extensive range of business partners. In December 2017, Toyota Motor Corporation and
Panasonic Corporation agree to start studying the feasibility of a
joint automotive prismatic battery business. The two
companies came to the shared realization that the popularization of
electrified vehicles would be necessary to help address pressing
social issues such as global warming, air pollution, the depletion
of natural resources, and energy security, and that meeting
customer demand and expectations around the world for electrified
vehicles would help to realize a more sustainable society. Toyota
and Panasonic agreed to establish a joint venture in January 2019 and that company, PPES, started
operations in April 2020.
- Refer ASX release titled 'ioneer Delivers Definitive
Feasibility Study that Confirms Rhyolite Ridge as a World-Class
Lithium and Boron Project' announced 30
April 2020.
- Refer ASX release titled 'ioneer Signs Binding Lithium Offtake
Agreement with Ford' announced 22 July
2022.
- Refer ASX release titled 'EcoPro Innovation Increases Lithium
Offtake Volume from Rhyolite Ridge' released 16 February 2022.
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SOURCE ioneer