Per the WSJ, Albemarle, based in Charlotte, NC, started off in 1887 as a paper mill, making blotter paper and paper for commercial packaging. In 1962, it bought a much bigger chemical company. Paper divestments followed and Ethyl, as the company was then known, spun off its chemical business to become a publicly traded company called Albemarle. In the 2000s and 2010s, it added some chemical businesses and sold off others. Then it made a world class bet.
Nearly a decade ago, Albemarle spent $6 Billion to buy NJ lithium producer Rockwood. They bet that demand for lithium, the lightest of all metals discovered in 1817, was poised to take off as a key component in batteries. They were right. Albemarle is now the world’s most valuable lithium producer. It is also the third biggest producer of lithium chemicals used to make lithium-ion batteries.
Albemarle is a key cog in the supply chain for battery metals used in electric cars, smartphones and other applications. They run the U.S.’s only operational lithium mine in Silver Peak, NV. They recently signed a long-term contract with Ford Motor to provide enough lithium to make around three million EV batteries. They hold key lithium assets in Australia and Chile. And they recently made a $3.7 Billion takeover bid for Liontown Resources, an Australian lithium miner, that is developing one of the largest and highest-grade hard rock lithium deposits in the world.
Lithium can be mined from the earth like other metals or extracted from briny water deposits. Albemarle gets its lithium both ways from its international operations. Their integrated approach has put them at the center of western efforts to diversify supply chains.
Albemarle has changed directions many times in its 136-year history. The world is constantly changing and businesses, like Albemarle, need to change with it. Every scenario can become a journey to the unknown. MOSIMTEC can guide you on a simulation modeling journey to help gain the most insight possible on future opportunities and challenges, also to get the most from your people, processes and technology. MOSIMTEC’s data scientists and industrial engineers can help you test new directions, embrace twists and turns, and future-proof your business.
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Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-onetime-paper-maker-is-now-the-king-of-lithium-99421b8c