Industrial services provider Bilfinger and clean-tech company Rock Tech Lithium have signed a letter of intent for Bilfinger to serve as EPCM (engineering, procurement, construction manager) to Rock Tech Lithium. The agreement relates to the construction of Europe's first lithium hydroxide converter. The production plant for battery-grade lithium hydroxide is to be built in Guben, Brandenburg, Germany, and when completed will produce 24,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide annually for the batteries of 500,000 electric cars. Rock Tech's project is currently at an advanced planning stage. Bilfinger will provide engineering services directly and, in the event of realization, primarily further procurement services as well as construction management.
“The production of lithium hydroxide as a component of electric car batteries is essential for a climate-friendly mobility transition. The concept developed by Rock Tech Lithium for the construction of the lithium refining plant is innovative and technologically convincing. We look forward to helping shape the further steps towards the implementation of the project with our decades of experience in planning and construction management of industrial plants.”
CHRISTINA JOHANSSON
Interim-CEO and CFO of Bilfinger
The CEO of Rock Tech Lithium, says: "With Bilfinger, we have found and selected an excellent industrial partner who has crucial experience in the construction of complex industrial plants and can implement our project with the highest level of competence. The cooperation is another significant milestone for Rock Tech Lithium on its way to becoming a leading clean-tech company supplying the automotive industry with high-purity lithium hydroxide. Together with Bilfinger, we want to drive the battery era forward."
Rock Tech Lithium had announced on October 11, 2021, the construction of Europe's first lithium refinery and acquired the required site from the city of Guben.
Rock Tech Lithium pursues the goal of producing lithium hydroxide over the entire value chain with the lowest possible impact on the environment. Thus, together with the German Lithium Institute ITEL, the company has developed a zero-waste strategy, which envisages also recycling the by-products of lithium hydroxide production - for example in the gypsum industry. The aim is to recycle the lithium itself at a later stage.
Bilfinger is one of the leading international providers of industrial services and has extensive expertise in plant construction going back many years. The group covers the entire value chain - from consulting through manufacturing to the maintenance of industrial plants - and has already successfully implemented several projects in the electromobility sector, such as the construction of a BASF production plant for battery materials in Harjavalta, Finland..
About Bilfinger
Bilfinger is a leading international industrial services provider. The Group increases the efficiency of plants, ensures high availability and reduces maintenance costs. The portfolio covers the entire value chain: from consulting, engineering,
manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, plant expansion and its general overhaul to environmental technologies and digital applications. The company provides its services in two business units: Engineering & Maintenance and Technologies. Bilfinger is particularly
active in Europe, North America and the Middle East. Its customers in the process industry come from sectors including chemicals & petrochemicals, energy & utilities, oil & gas, pharmaceuticals & biopharma, metallurgy and cement. With around
30,000 employees, Bilfinger maintains the highest safety and quality standards and generated sales of €3.5 billion in fiscal year2020.
About Rock Tech Lithium
Rock Tech Lithium is a clean-tech company operating in Germany and Canada that will supply the automotive industry with high quality lithium hydroxide "made in Germany". As early as 2024, the company will commission Europe's first lithium converter with a production capacity of 24,000 metric tons per year. An amount sufficient to equip around 500,000 electric cars with lithium-ion batteries. The clean tech company aims to create the world's first closed loop for lithium, closing the raw material gap on the road to
clean mobility. Rock Tech owns the Georgia Lake lithium project in Ontario, Canada. As early as 2030, around 50 percent of the raw materials used are expected to come from recycling spent batteries. Rock Tech Lithium is listed on the TSX Venture and Frankfurt stock exchanges. The company is led by Dirk Harbecke, Chairman, Markus Brügmann, Chief Executive Officer, Stefan Krause, Chief Financial Officer, Don Stevens, Chief Technology Officer, and Esther Bahne as Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer.
Katharina Schönebeck
Corporate Communications & Public Affairs
Phone: +49 621 459-3816
katharina.schoenebeck@bilfinger.com
Contact Rock Tech Lithium
Wolfgang Böhm
Rock Tech Lithium Inc.
Press and Public Relations
Phone: +49 30 44 33 61 - 33
wboehm.ext@rocktechlithium.com