LG Energy Solution Taps Canadian Spodumene in Four-Year Supply Deal with Elevra

LG Energy Solution has locked in a four-year offtake agreement with Australia-listed Elevra Lithium covering 240,000 dry metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate, a raw feedstock the South Korean battery maker says it can route toward either electric vehicle cells or stationary energy storage systems depending on where demand lands.

The material will come from Elevra’s North American Lithium operation in Quebec, which is already producing, with first deliveries scheduled before the end of 2026. Elevra will keep exposure to prevailing spodumene prices under the arrangement, while gaining the certainty of a committed long-term buyer. Chief Executive and Managing Director Lucas Dow framed the deal in those terms.

For LG Energy Solution, the strategic value sits in the form of the material rather than the volume alone. Spodumene concentrate can be refined into either lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide, giving the company a degree of downstream flexibility that processed chemicals do not offer. That matters as the balance of demand between EV batteries and grid-scale storage continues to shift, sometimes quickly.

Near-term, storage is doing more of the work. LG Energy Solution operates five standalone and joint venture plants in the region producing lithium iron phosphate cells for energy storage systems, and those lines are driving much of the current pull for lithium feedstock. Purchasing concentrate also broadens the company’s sourcing base beyond refined chemicals and shortens the physical distance between its lithium supply and its North American customers.

Kang Yeol Lee, who leads LG Energy Solution’s Procurement Center, described the agreement as a step toward hardening the company’s raw material chain in North America and supporting the region’s expanding ESS market, adding that an operational North American source improves both flexibility and resilience.

Pressures on battery-makers to localize supply chains have intensified as North American content requirements tighten across both vehicles and grid storage. Quebec’s spodumene deposits have become a focal point in that effort, positioning Elevra as one of the few Western suppliers capable of serving cathode and cell manufacturers at scale.