Australia’s Lepidico to establish lithium facility in Abu Dhabi

Australia’s Lepidico is planning to invest $95m in setting up a lithium production facility at the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad)

 

Australia’s Lepidico is planning to invest $95m in setting up a lithium production facility at the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad).

The plant will seek to tap into the expected rise in demand for electric vehicles in the Middle East.

“We are pleased to host an innovative and environmentally conscious company like Lepidico, which aims to establish the region’s first lithium production facility in the Middle East, located in Kizad,” Abdullah Al Hameli, head of industrial cities and free zone cluster at the Abu Dhabi Ports Group, said after the plans for the lithium plant were announced.

Lepidico's latest technology helps in the extraction of lithium and recovers valuable by-products from lithium-mica and phosphate minerals, according to the company. The residue, predominantly gypsum, will be repurposed for use in the construction industry.

Global demand for lithium, a critical component of batteries in electric vehicles, is expected to reach $60bn by 2025, a sharp rise from $8bn recorded in 2018 according to the UN Conference Trade and Development.

“We look forward to working with AD [Abu Dhabi] Ports Group as we bring the lithium chemical industry to the UAE and wider Middle East Region,” Joe Walsh, managing director of Lepidico, was quoted in a statement following the announcement of the Kizad project.