Australia-listed company Lithium Universe has taken a final investment decision (FID) to build a lithium refinery in Quebec, Canada.

The facility, located in Becancour, is planned with a capital investment of $549 million and operating costs of $3,931/tonne of lithium carbonate. Once operational, it will produce up to 18,270 t/y of lithium carbonate, Kallanish reports. 

It will process feedstock sourced from Canada, Brazil and Africa, and initially target North American lithium iron phosphate batteries as the end market – tapping into the growing appetite for supply chains outside of Chinese control. Lithium Universe says offtake discussions with interested OEMs are ongoing.

Production is slated for 2028, when demand for lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in North America could be as much as 850,000 t/year, according to the company’s internal forecast. Lithium Universe estimates that around 100,000 t/y of LCE hard rock converters are slated for construction in the region before 2028.

The Becancour refinery is expected to generate annual revenue of $383m and underlying earnings (EBITDA) of $148m based on a battery-grade lithium carbonate price of $20,970/t. Current spot prices are $10,680/t.

The plant will use technology deployed by Galaxy Lithium, which merged with Orocobre Limited in 2021, at the Jiangsu refinery in China. Hatch Engineering, the firm behind the Jiangsu plant, is the engineering partner for Becancour.

Shares in Lithium Universe closed 12% higher on Monday.