DOE terminates grant for ABTC’s lithium hydroxide refinery

Included in a recent run of grant terminations by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is a $57 million award to Reno, Nevada-based American Battery Technology Co. (ABTC), which had planned to use the funds to build a lithium hydroxide refinery.

ABTC, which has access to deposits of virgin lithium and also operates a battery recycling facility in McCarran, Nevada, was notified of the grant termination Oct. 9. The DOE had awarded the company funding in October 2022 for use toward the construction of its $115 million commercial-scale lithium hydroxide manufacturing facility that ABTC would operate along with partners DuPont Water Solutions, the University of Nevada in Reno and the Argonne National Laboratory.

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According to Tiffiany Moehring, ABTC’s head of communications, public affairs and marketing, the company has submitted an appeal of the termination and intends to pursue the DOE’s dispute resolution remedies.

“We remain committed to working with the DOE and are proud of the progress that has accelerated to date in part due to the government’s investment,” she says, adding that the company recently completed a prefeasibility study for its Tonopah Flats Lithium Project.

ABTC owns more than 10,000 acres of mineral leases in Tonopah, Nevada, where lithium has been found in sedimentary claystone deposits. For the past three years, the company has developed a method to extract lithium from the claystone without using large quantities of chemicals such as acid and convert it into battery-grade lithium hydroxide.

“The results of this study were highly positive, underscoring the economic and technical viability of this project,” Moehring says. “The DOE grant for Tonopah has supported the design and preparatory work for the commercial lithium hydroxide refinery reflected in the [prefeasibility study], and we are excited about the potential this project holds for advancing domestic critical mineral production for the U.S.”

According to a recent Bloomberg report, ABTC plans to continue work on the project, telling the outlet completion of the refinery is scheduled for late 2027. Additionally, the company tells Bloomberg it has raised $52 million in recent months from public markets after the DOE hinted at plans to audit billions of dollars in grant awards that were approved by the Biden administration. The audit began in May and is ongoing.

Moehring tells Recycling Today that as the U.S. faces critical mineral supply chain challenges and increasing demand for domestic manufacturing, ABTC sees “immense potential” and an imperative to continue forward with the project.

“We remain steadfast in our mission to implement our proprietary technologies and bring new sources of battery metals online for the U.S.,” she says. “This includes our recycling operations and the Tonopah Flats Lithium Project. We are incredibly proud of our team’s resilience and unwavering commitment to creating a sustainable, domestic supply chain for critical battery metals. This work is vital to strengthening our nation’s future, and we are dedicated to solving challenges and achieving milestones that support this mission.”