US-based Albemarle Corp says subsidiary Albemarle Lithium UK Ltd has closed on a deal to acquire Guangxi Tianyuan New Energy Materials Co Ltd, a lithium converter located in Guangxi, China, for $200 million, Kallanish reports.

The companies had signed a definitive agreement in September 2021. Under the agreement, Albermarle, a global leader in specialty chemicals, will acquire all outstanding equity from Tianyuan’s shareholders.

Tianyuan, founded in 2017, has built a lithium-processing plant near the port of Qinzhou in Guangxi. The plant has designed annual conversion capacity of 25,000 tonnes LCE and can produce battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.

"The addition of Tianyuan's operations to Albemarle's high-quality lithium assets strengthens our ability to reliably meet the increasing global demand for battery-grade lithium," says Albemarle ceo Kent Masters in a statement. "We welcome the Tianyuan team's support as we help our customers and the world transition to more sustainable energy use."