The German automaker announced on Thursday that Mercedes-Benz has inked a supply agreement with Canadian-German Rock Tech Lithium Inc to receive an average of 10,000 tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide annually. The agreement enables the high-end automaker to rapidly ramp up manufacturing of fully electric vehicles by supplying raw material to its battery partners beginning in 2026, with a qualifying period.
The deal, which comes shortly after the two groups said they would explore a strategic partnership, has a volume of 1.5 billion euros ($1.47 billion) and will cover enough lithium hydroxide for 150,000 cars a year, the companies said.
“This significant amount of lithium sourced directly from Rock Tech will help Mercedes Benz to advance localization of European production of state of the art battery cells,” Mercedes-Benz management board member Markus Schaefer said.
As part of the deal, Rock Tech Lithium plans to supply Mercedes-Benz battery partners from a converter based in Guben, Germany, helping the German luxury carmaker to go fully electric by the end of the decade where market conditions allow.
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