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Pacific Canada  + Canada + Ontario + Quebec  + Industrial  | 
Photo of technicians at a Mangrove Lithium facility in Delta, B.C.

Mangrove Commences Construction on Lithium-refining Plant in Delta

A startup company has commenced construction on North America’s first electrochemical lithium-refining facility in the Vancouver suburb of Delta, B.C.

The project is located in Delta’s Tilbury area on Annacis Island, which has a heavy concentration of industrial properties near rail and river-transport connections.

The 60,000-square-foot plant’s construction start followed Mangrove’s closure of a $35-million investment round with ed after Mangrove secured $35 million in financing from new investors new investors that include Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and Asahi Kasei Corporation; InBC Investment (InBC), which is a provincial investment corporation; Orion Industrial Ventures, and Export Development Canada. Also joining the round were Mangrove’s existing investors: Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, U.S.-based BMW i Ventures, and BDC Capital.

The plant has a total cost, covering capital expenses and construction, of US$60 million, a Mangrove spokesman told Connect CRE Canada on Tuesday.

The new facility is expected to be operational by late 2025 and will supply enough battery-grade lithium to power approximately 25,000 electric vehicles (EVs) annually, said Mangrove in a news release. The company currently conducts research and develop activities at a pilot plant and head office based at a different Delta location, which is leased.

Those operations will relocate to the new full-size Tilbury plant, the Mangrove spokesman told Connect.

The construction-start milestone comes at a crucial time for the North American battery supply chain as China considers restricting exports of lithium- processing technology, said Mangrove. The new facility will enhance the continent’s lithium production capacity while reducing dependence on foreign sources, the company said.

“Establishing North America’s first electrochemical lithium refining facility marks a key milestone in securing the continent’s battery supply chain,” said Saad Dara, CEO of Mangrove Lithium. “Our Delta plant will help meet the growing demand for battery-grade lithium while enhancing energy independence amid rising geopolitical uncertainties.

“We are also excited by the diverse syndicate [of] financial investors, government funds, and strategic investors from mining and technology development that have joined Mangrove on this journey. This validates Mangrove’s technology, plan, and position as a market leader in this space.”

Mangrove’s proprietary electrochemical process, initially developed during Dara’s doctoral studies at the University of British Columbia, provides a more sustainable alternative to traditional lithium-refining methods. By eliminating sodium-sulfate waste and harmful chemical reagents, the company reduces production costs and the environmental impact of lithium refining, Dara previously told Connect.

Founded in 2017, Mangrove has rapidly grown into a leader in lithium- processing technology. At the pilot-plant facility, Mangrove has demonstrated its ability to refine lithium from a range of sources, including hard rock and recycled batteries, into high-purity lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate.

Mangrove is focusing on launching the new Delta project before developing a planned lithium-refining facility in Eastern Canada.

“After this plant comes online, we’ll be looking to build a much bigger plant,” Dara told Connect previously. “That plant will be closer to the mine level in Ontario and Quebec.”

The federal and provincial governments, along with Canadian industrial real estate and technology developers, aim to establish Canada as a global leader in sustainable battery production.

Pictured: Mangrove Lithium research, development and pilot-project plant in Delta, B.C.

Photo: Courtesy of Mangrove Lithium

Connect

Inside The Story

Saad DaraMangrove Lithium

About Monte Stewart

Monte Stewart serves as Content Director - Canada for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monte provides daily news coverage of major Canadian commercial real estate markets, including Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary. He has written about the real estate sector for various media outlets and Avison Young since the early 2000s. In addition, he has covered sports, general news and business for several leading wire services and publications, including The Canadian Press, The Associated Press, The Calgary Herald, The Globe and Mail, Research Money, The Daily Oil Bulletin, Natural Gas World and The Toronto Star. Monte is active in his community as a youth basketball coach and raises funds for such charitable causes as Movember.

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