St. Gabriel facility will get key electric vehicle battery material ingredient from this company

A St. Gabriel plant tied to the Biden administration’s electric vehicle push will receive a key ingredient from a Massachusetts company to produce a specialty chemical for electric car batteries.

Koura is set to receive 5,000 metric tons annually of recycled lithium carbonate from Ascend Elements in Westborough, Massachusetts, the company announced in a news release. The recycled lithium carbonate will help Koura produce enough lithium hexafluorophosphate, or LiPF6, to support production of more than 1 million electric vehicles annually.

Koura is building North America’s first LiPF6 production plant at its St. Gabriel facility. LiPF6 is an essential electrolyte salt for lithium-ion vehicle batteries.

Back in October, the U.S. Department of Energy said Koura would receive a $100 million grant to help build its LiPF6 plant. Syrah Resources also received nearly $220 million for its Vidalia graphite processing plant

“Koura’s ongoing partnership with Ascend has led to gains in process technologies and fluorinated chemistries that yield sustainable materials for the high-performing lithium-ion batteries needed in major global markets,” Koura President Gregg Smith said in a statement. “We are steering the electrified future together.”

Koura said in February it has enlisted the help of Japanese firm Kanto Denka Kogyo for its LiPF6 buildout.