US company EnergyX has signed a 10-year binding offtake deal with Swiss commodity trader Trafigura for the supply of lithium products from proposed direct lithium extraction (DLE) operations in Chile and Texas, USA, worth a nominal circa-US$2 billion at current prices.
EnergyX, developing proprietary DLE systems, is aiming to start producing 7500 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate at Project Black Giant in Antofagasta, Chile, in 2028 and about 15,000tpa of lithium hydroxide at Project Lonestar in Texas from 2029.
Trafigura could take one-third of EnergyX’s Lonestar annual output and two-thirds of Black Giant’s production under its deal to source 100,000t of battery-grade lithium products from EnergyX. The trader also has a lithium offtake contract with c$350 million, public-listed US DLE developer, Standard Lithium.
EnergyX said its first publicly announced lithium offtake agreement turned “years of technology validation and project development into long-term commercial sales with a globally recognised buyer”. Its GET-Lit DLE and refining technology platform was covered by more than 150 patents.
“Offtake agreements are among the most important steps in taking a lithium project from development to production,” the company’s CEO Teague Egan said.
“A long-term purchase commitment from a counterparty of Trafigura’s scale and credit quality shows that the market wants EnergyX’s product. It also gives lenders and investors the revenue visibility they need before committing capital to commercial construction.”
Egan said the agreement supported EnergyX’s bid to secure $690 million of US EXIM Bank and other project finance.
Trafigura head of battery metals Daniel von Arx said the company’s latest offtake agreement “reflects our ability to help bring strategic critical minerals projects online and build secure, diversified supply chains”.
