LG Energy Solution has signed a deal with a US lithium company to secure a stable 8,000-tonne annual lithium carbonate supply over a 10-year period.

August 31 news, American Smarter Lithium has signed a binding 10-year lithium product purchase agreement with LG Energy Solution, which will supply 8,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate to the latter every year after the project is put into production, helping to build the North American local battery raw material supply chain.

Smarter Lithium is a joint venture between Standard Lithium and Norwegian state-owned energy company Equinor, and its lithium supply comes from the Southwest Arkansas Lithium Project in Arkansas, USA. This project adopts the direct lithium extraction (DLE) process from brine. The first phase of the project is designed with a lithium carbonate production capacity of 22,500 tons per year, and is planned to be put into commercial production in 2028. The supply this time will start after the project officially enters mass production.

According to the agreement, the contract period is 10 years, with 8,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate delivered each year. This is also the second long-term supply order obtained by this lithium company. In March 2026, it reached a 10-year supply agreement of the same scale with commodity trader Trafigura Group. The two long-term agreements together lock up most of the first-phase output of the project.

LG Energy Solution said that purchasing lithium carbonate produced in the United States will improve the integrated supply chain from raw materials to battery manufacturing in North America, meet the raw material demand of North American energy storage and power battery businesses, and also comply with the relevant policy requirements of the U.S. critical minerals. The specific commercial details such as the pricing of this transaction have not been disclosed to the public.