North America just got its first new kind of lithium refinery
Mangrove Lithium has opened what it says is North America’s first commercial electrochemical lithium refinery, a 1,000-tonne-per-year plant in Delta, British Columbia, aimed at strengthening the continent’s EV battery supply chain.
The new site – known as the Single Stack Plant (SSP) – is Mangrove’s first commercial lithium-refining facility and its new headquarters. The company marked the opening with a ribbon-cutting in Delta.
Most of the world’s lithium is still refined overseas, which creates bottlenecks and price volatility. As EV adoption ramps up, North America has been racing to bring more of that supply chain closer to home.
Mangrove’s approach is different from traditional lithium refining. The company uses a proprietary electrochemical process to convert extracted lithium into battery-grade material, which it says is more economical, flexible, and sustainable than conventional chemical methods.
At full capacity, the Delta plant can produce enough battery-grade lithium to support around 25,000 EVs per year.
The facility is also a first step toward a larger goal of building a fully domestic lithium supply chain in Canada.
Mangrove says it plans to develop a second, larger facility in Eastern Canada that would process spodumene and refine lithium at a scale large enough to supply batteries for about 500,000 EVs annually.
To move that project forward, the company has secured conditional funding support of up to $21.88 million CAD from Natural Resources Canada through its Critical Minerals Research, Development, and Demonstration program. The funding will help support engineering work and spodumene piloting studies.
Mangrove has also signed a memorandum of understanding with lithium producer Élévra to source spodumene from the lithium mine in Quebec. The idea is to link mining and refining into a single domestic supply chain – often referred to as “mine-to-cathode.”
If successful, that would allow Canada to capture more value from its own resources, reduce reliance on overseas refining, and strengthen battery manufacturing at home.
“This is a landmark moment not just for Mangrove, but for Canada,” said CEO and founder Saad Dara. “By commissioning the first commercial electrochemical lithium refinery in North America, we are proving that lithium can be refined domestically, sustainably, and competitively. This facility is an important step toward a fully Canadian lithium supply chain, one that strengthens our energy security, accelerates the transition to EVs, and positions Canada as a global leader in critical mineral processing.”
Read more: Mangrove’s new lithium plant will boost North America’s EV game
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