Compass Minerals, Overland Park, Kan., on July 21 announced the signing of a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore supplying Ford Motor Co. with a battery-grade lithium product from its lithium brine development project at its Ogden, Utah, solar evaporation facility.
Under the terms, Compass and Ford will work together to create a two-phase arrangement that secures a significant quantity of Compass’ production for Ford starting in 2025. Both companies will continue good-faith negotiations, aiming toward a definitive offtake and supply agreement.
The agreement with Ford quickly follows a similar MOU that Compass signed with LG Energy Solution (GM July 1, p. 27).
Compass previously announced an expected annual commercial production capacity of 30,000-40,000 mt lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) for the project, with an initial phase-one capacity of approximately 10,000 mt LCE coming online by 2025.
Compass is pursuing the sustainable development of an approximate 2.4 million mt LCE resource on the Great Salt Lake, available for extraction through existing permits, water rights, and operational infrastructure at the company’s Ogden facility.