Sumitomo, Australia’s Liontown to study lithium hydroxide production in Japan

TOKYO : Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp and Australian lithium developer Liontown Resources said on Monday they had agreed to work together to study producing lithium hydroxide in Japan.

The move is the latest in a series of projects by companies worldwide to secure lithium, a key metal to make batteries used in electric vehicles and battery storage.

Liontown Resources is developing the Kathleen Valley lithium mine in Western Australia, where it said it is on track to start producing hard rock lithium concentrate in mid-2024.

The Japanese trading house will collaborate with Liontown to build a supply chain that extends from the mining and processing of lithium concentrates in Australia to the production of lithium hydroxide to provide stable supply of the metal to Japan and overseas, Sumitomo said in a statement.

Details, including financial terms, have not been set, a spokesperson of Sumitomo said, adding that the two companies plan to take about two years to conduct the joint study to decide the scale of the production of lithium hydroxide.

Liontown has already lined up deals to sell lithium from its Kathleen Valley mine to LG Energy Solutions, Tesla and Ford.