News

• First shipment of steel modules and equipment arrives for Kemerton Expansion
• Delivery a major milestone in doubling the capacity of Kemerton operations
• Albemarle continues as a critical player in the global lithium industry

Albemarle, Australia’s biggest manufacturer of lithium, has achieved a significant milestone with the arrival of a first shipment of 251 steel modules weighing around 2000 tonnes as part of the Kemerton Expansion Project.

The timely delivery from China is a crucial step in the construction of two additional processing trains at the world leading Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant.

The shipment consisted of 438 separate packages and included steel module panels, stair towers and structural frames with truck delivery to the Kemerton facility to occur over several weeks.

Albemarle Australia Country Manager Beverley East said arrival of the first steel shipment at Bunbury Port was an important milestone.

“Albemarle, our suppliers and service providers, are all committed to delivering a safe and timely project to satisfy the growing global demand for high quality lithium storage products required for the manufacturing of millions of new electric vehicles,” Ms East said.

“The successful delivery of the steel modules also signals the beginning of Kemerton expansion, boosting jobs and the economy in the South West.”

Albemarle’s VP, Capital Projects Australia, Joshua Rowan, is leading the Kemerton expansion project and said fabrication and transportation of the steel structures were logistical challenges on a mammoth scale.

“The arrival of first steel, equipment and materials for the project was completed ahead of schedule, which is critically important to meet our ambitious construction timeline,” he said.

“Strategic coordination and planning began months in advance of this first shipment. Just getting it safely transported on large load trucks from the Port of Bunbury to the Kemerton plant required the sinking of some overhead power lines, and close work with Western Power to make it happen.”

Mr Rowan said a team of over 300 ranging across Perth, Bunbury and Kemerton was currently working on construction planning to ensure that all stages of the project ran as smoothly as the first steel delivery.

"Construction of processing trains 3 and 4 at Kemerton – to be wholly owned and operated by Albemarle – will involve 1,000+ workers before the project is successfully completed,” he said.

“Expansion of a facility that is already the biggest of its type in Australia, and the most advanced in the world, involves thousands of complex moving parts and requires a dynamic, proactive and highly experienced multi-disciplinary team, and we are working very hard to bring that team together."

Following expansion, Kemerton will have capacity to produce 100,000 metric tonnes per annum of lithium hydroxide, doubling its current output and supporting the manufacturing of an estimated 2.4 million electric vehicles each year.

Ms East said that Albemarle’s substantial investment in advanced manufacturing of high-quality lithium hydroxide had put Kemerton and Western Australia on the map for the world’s best resources.

“Kemerton and its expansion are already playing a vital role in driving regional economic growth and creating hundreds of new jobs, and this will continue in the South West for years to come,” she said.

For more information about the Kemerton Expansion Project visit www.albemarle.au/kemerton