TEMPE, AZ — A new research facility backed by the Arizona Commerce Authority has opened in Tempe that is expected to advance lithium processing technology and support two lithium mining developments in North America — including one in Arizona.
Australia-based Arizona Lithium Ltd. has opened its 20,451-square-foot Lithium Research Center, which will serve as a "technology incubator focused on the extraction of lithium" from key North American lithium developments, according to a May 31 announcement.
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Those developments include the Big Sandy Lithium Project in northwestern Arizona and the Prairie Lithium Project in Saskatchewan, Canada, where Arizona Lithium recently commenced drilling operations.
The facility announcement marks another feather in the cap of Arizona's growing battery manufacturing sector. In the Phoenix metro alone, LG Energy Solution Ltd. is planning a $5.5 billion battery complex in Queen Creek, while the first phase of KORE Power Inc.'s forthcoming 908,880-square-foot battery cell manufacturing plant in Buckeye is estimated to cost $1 billion and bring more than 1,600 jobs to the area.
