EnergyX and Wildcat Discovery Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Holyvolt Group, announced Thursday they have entered into an agreement to advance a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material manufacturing facility in Hooks, Texas.
The project represents more than $230 million investment, and if selected for DOE funding, federal support would accelerate construction, commissioning, and scale-up of one of the first meaningful domestic LFP cathode production facilities in the United States, EnergyX said in a news release.
The facility would be adjacent to EnergyX’s Project Lonestar lithium plant, and near the Red River Army Depot.
EnergyX controls approximately 50,000 acres of lithium mining rights underneath the co-located cathode production facility and Lonestar lithium plant, located in the Smackover formation — a lithium-rich brine resource that stretches from Florida to Texas.
Under the joint venture, Wildcat and EnergyX plan to establish domestic manufacturing capacity for LFP cathode material, a critical battery component used in energy storage systems, electric vehicles, military platforms, drones, and other advanced energy applications.
The proposed plant is designed to produce approximately 15,000 metric tonnes per annum (tpa) of LFP cathode active material in Phase 1, with the ability for future expansion.
The project would be located on 330 acres of land already secured by EnergyX at the TexAmericas Center, an industrial location with rail transportation access, available utility infrastructure, competitive energy resources, and proximity to important defense and battery supply-chain assets.
Most LFP cathode materials are currently produced in China, creating supply chain risk for U.S. energy storage, transportation, and defense markets.
The joint venture is expected to create an estimated 150 permanent jobs, and up to 800-12,00 indirect and construction jobs in Northeast Texas.
EnergyX will supply most of the lithium carbonate with commercially favorable terms, including a discount from market rates, and a price floor and ceiling, which limits exposure to lithium price volatility, the company said.
Both Wildcat and EnergyX have already validated demonstration-scale LFP cathode and lithium carbonate production capabilities at their facilities in San Diego, and Hooks, respectively, and have sampled material to customers across energy storage, mobility, and defense-related markets.
Wildcat’s LFP product roadmap includes successive generations of higher density LFP materials, while its broader cathode platform includes future cobalt- and nickel-free chemistries, creating expansion possibilities.
“LFP cathode materials are essential to the future of energy storage, defense electrification, and affordable electric mobility, yet the United States remains heavily dependent on foreign supply,” Wildcat CEO Mark Gresser said in a news release.
“This project is designed to help close that gap by combining Wildcat’s cathode materials technology and high-throughput development platform with EnergyX’s domestic lithium supply strategy and Texas project footprint,” Gresser said.
Wildcat’s proprietary high throughput platform. Image: Wildcat Discovery Technologies
Bigger picture ‘battery mecca’
EnergyX said its product portfolio includes lithium carbonate for LFP cathodes, lithium hydroxide for NMC cathode chemistries, and lithium metal anodes for high energy density solid state batteries and lithium isotopes for the nuclear material supply chain.
“This cathode plant is a critical step towards EnergyX’s larger vision of the ‘Battery Mecca,’” EnergyX CEO Teague Egan said.
“Cathode production is a natural next step, which will eventually include lithium metal anode production, and high energy density cell manufacturing,” Egan said.
“By pairing domestic cathode manufacturing with our domestic lithium supply, this project can help position Texas and ‘Battery Mecca’ as a leader in the next generation of battery materials and establishes a complete U.S. battery materials supply chain.”
