Exxon Mobil Corporation and LG Chem have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a multiyear offtake agreement for up to 100,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate. The lithium will be supplied from ExxonMobil’s planned project in the US to LG Chem’s cathode plant in Tennessee, which LG Chem expects to be the largest of its kind in the US.

Final investment decision will be subject to various factors including the establishment of commercially competitive regulatory frameworks. The planned production of Mobil Lithium will utilize Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology, aligning with ExxonMobil’s core competencies in subsurface exploration, drilling, and chemical processing.

This approach offers US EV battery manufacturers a domestically extracted and processed lithium supply option which is expected to have substantially lower environmental impacts, including approximately two-thirds less carbon intensity than hard rock mining.