Swedish green technology company Cinis Fertilizer on Nov. 10 said it has decided to prioritize the construction of its planned $89.4 million, 300,000 mt/y sulfate of potash (SOP) facility in Hopkinsville, Ky., before a facility in Skellefteå, Sweden. The company attributed the decision to the extensive investments that are being made in green industrial projects in North America.
In September, Cinis signed an agreement for the supply of sodium sulfate from Ascend Elements, an independent manufacturer of advanced engineered battery materials (GM Sept. 22, p. 1). In connection with this agreement, Cinis decided to establish an SOP production facility in Hopkinsville.
Cinis said the preparatory work and contacts with partners and authorities have taken place at a high pace, which is the background for the decision to accelerate the Kentucky plant.
“The rapid handling of important contractual issues and the great interest key players have demonstrated have made us choose to shift our schedule,” said Cinis CEO and Founder Jacob Liedberg. “Ascend Elements’ battery material manufacturing facility is being built quickly and we have already managed to establish a strong local network. The market for production of electric vehicle batteries is growing very fast in North America on the back of favorable government incentive programs introduced in the US and Canada, thus many battery manufacturers are now shifting their focus from Europe to North America.”
“Cinis Fertilizer wishes to take part in this growth and therefore we choose to focus on Hopkinsville as our second facility,” he added. “This means that we are waiting a bit with the planning of the Skellefteå facility, and thus it will now be number three of our planned six facilities.”
Ascend Elements is currently building its largest facility in Hopkinsville. The agreement with Cinis means that Ascend Elements will deliver up to 240,000 mt/y of sodium sulfate beginning in 2024. Cinis has also entered into a letter of intent regarding the sale of its SOP to K+S and the purchase of potassium chloride from K+S’ production facilities in Saskatchewan. The Cinis facility in Hopkinsville is to be ready in 2025.
Cinis is currently building its first production facility outside of the town of Örnsköldsvik in Sweden, with a planned startup in early 2024. Cinis plans six facilities, with a total production capacity of about 1.5 million mt/y, to be in operation by 2030.