LG Energy Solution signs 10-year lithium carbonate offtake deal with Smackover Lithium

LG Energy Solution has signed a binding offtake agreement with Smackover Lithium, a partnership between Standard Lithium and Equinor, for 8,000 metric tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate annually over a 10-year period. The lithium will come from the South West Arkansas Project, and LG says the contract gives it a fully integrated local supply chain from sourcing through production.

Smackover Lithium will produce the carbonate using lithium-extraction" class="tag-link text-primary font-medium">direct lithium extraction (DLE) and purification. LG says the material meets non-Prohibited Foreign Entity (non-PFE) requirements.

LG Energy Solution operates seven production facilities in the US, including three standalone sites, and says most of them already have production capacity for LFP cells. Lithium carbonate is the lithium feedstock for LFP cathode material.

The contract is the South West Arkansas Project’s second commercial offtake, after a 10-year deal with Trafigura for the same 8,000 metric tonnes a year. Smackover Lithium describes the LG contract as take-or-pay, and says it is seeking offtake agreements covering roughly 80% of the 22,500 metric tonnes of annual nameplate capacity in the project’s initial phase. The two contracts account for about 90% of that target.

Smackover Lithium says the offtake process is being run in conjunction with the project’s financing. In a December 2025 update, the partnership put indications of interest for project debt at more than $1 billion from three export credit agencies. It is aiming for a final investment decision in 2026 and expects first commercial production in 2029. The 10-year supply term runs from the start of commercial production.

Source: LG Energy Solution