This next-generation factory in China, owned by U.S.-based Albemarle Corp. to convert lithium ore into 50,000 tons per year of battery-grade lithium hydroxide for electric vehicle batteries, is the first to be internationally designed in the country.

The plant features enhanced emissions removal and mostly renewable hydroelectric power. The 20-month EPCM project was a record for the owner and contractor Fluor Corp., despite such challenges as first-of a-kind technology, space restrictions, extreme periods of heat and COVID-19 government restrictions.

Driven by a set time to market, the team audited Chinese design institute deliverables at defined stages, had extensive craftworker training and used off-site fabrication, among other strategies. More than 3,000 health, safety and environmental training sessions were conducted for the 14,500 craftworkers. Strong quality control reduced weld-reject rates early on. The project was delivered more than 9% under budget and three days ahead of schedule, the team says.

Albemarle, the world’s largest lithium producer, has other conversion plants underway or planned in China but paused building a $1.3-billion refinery in South Carolina and partially halted an Australia expansion, with global lithium prices falling, it told investors in mid-November. The firm said it intends about $900 million in capital investment next year, half of the 2024 total amid a global slowdown in EV sales and lithium oversupply. China provided 65% of global lithium refining capacity in 2023 and could generate more than half of world supply through 2040, says the International Energy Agency.