As the culminating stop on visits to Louisiana manufacturing sites investing in clean energy development, U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited the Orbia Advance Corporation, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: ORBIA*) Fluorinated Solutions (Koura) fluorochemical production site in St. Gabriel, Louisiana on Friday, November 17. Granholm addressed a crowd of Orbia leaders and employees gathered at the St. Gabriel site to celebrate the business’ upcoming investment in North America’s first lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) production facility.
Granholm commended Orbia for being a ‘model for the nation’ in securing the North American supply chain for crucial electric vehicle (EV) battery materials, as reported by The Advocate. She was joined by Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, who underscored Orbia’s projects as accelerators for the state’s ambitious climate action agenda and nationwide EV production.
Orbia was a 2022 recipient of a $100 million DoE grant to partially fund the construction of North America’s first site for LiPF6 manufacturing, an electrolyte salt used in lithium-ion batteries. The new LiPF6 site will be constructed on the grounds of Orbia’s existing facility in St. Gabriel, leveraging a licensing agreement with LiPF6 technology leader Kanto Denka Kogyo. In addition, Orbia recently announced a joint venture with Solvay and plans to build a second site in St. Gabriel to manufacture intermediates used in the production of lithium-ion battery binding agent polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF).
Orbia Chief Executive Officer Sameer Bharadwaj commented, “We are in the right position at the right time to be a key enabler in North America’s energy transition. The economic opportunity in electrification is massive and the need is there to cut emissions drastically for the future. This facility will provide Inflation Reduction Act-certified LiPF6 to support the Biden-Harris administration’s vision of securing North America’s battery materials supply chain.”
Gregg Smith, President of Orbia Fluorinated Solutions, added, “With our vertically-integrated ‘mine to market’ position at Orbia, we are able to bring security of supply to our work with industry partners to convert fluorine into a wide range of advanced battery materials. These include electrolyte salts, binders and high-performance electrolyte additives for the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems. In partnership with the St. Gabriel community, we are proud to be recognized for driving decarbonization.”
“St. Gabriel has been an incredible community for us to grow in with its skilled workforce, proximity to major auto and OEM manufacturers, local support and strong U.S. incentives for building capacity as well as infrastructure for the clean energy transition. We intend to bring a combined 200 new jobs to the area through our battery materials projects in St. Gabriel, and invest in the local community that has given us so much through scholarships and training,” said Miki Oljaca, Vice President of Growth and Technology, Orbia Fluorinated Solutions.
SOURCE: Businesswire