Bilfinger to support Rock Tech Lithium
by CM Staff
Rock Tech Lithium said its goal is to produce lithium hydroxide over the entire value chain with the lowest possible impact on the environment.
VANCOUVER — Industrial services provider Bilfinger and clean-tech company Rock Tech Lithium have signed a letter of intent for Bilfinger to serve as EPCM (engineering, procurement, construction manager) to Rock Tech Lithium.
The agreement is for the construction of a lithium hydroxide converter. The parties involved plan to build a production plant for battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Guben, Brandenburg, Germany. Once the project has been completed, the companies expect the plant will produce 24,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide annually.
According to Rock Tech Lithium, 24,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide should supply for the batteries of 500,000 electric cars.
Rock Tech said its project is currently at an advanced planning stage. Bilfinger will provide engineering services directly and, in the event of realization, it will further procurement services as well as construction management.
“The production of lithium hydroxide as a component of electric car batteries is essential for a climate-friendly mobility transition. The concept developed by Rock Tech Lithium for the construction of the lithium refining plant is innovative and technologically convincing. We look forward to helping shape the further steps towards the implementation of the project with our decades of experience in planning and construction management of industrial plants,” said Christina Johansson, Interim CEO and CFO of Bilfinger, in a statement.
Rock Tech Lithium said its goal is to produce lithium hydroxide over the entire value chain with the lowest possible impact on the environment. The company said it has developed a zero-waste strategy in collaboration with the German Lithium Institute ITEL. The aim is to recycle the lithium itself at a later stage.
Bilfinger is an international provider of industrial services and has extensive expertise in plant construction going back many years. The group covers the entire value chain – from consulting through manufacturing to the maintenance of industrial plants. According to a company statement, Bilfinger has implemented several projects in the electromobility sector, such as the construction of a BASF production plant for battery materials in Harjavalta, Finland.
