Albemarle Corporation Announces Discovery in Lithium Carbonate Production

Albemarle Corporation ALB announced today that it has developed a proprietary technology for lithium extraction from brine. This newly developed technology will allow the company to recover lithium that is present in the brines at its Magnolia, Arkansas bromine facility and utilize it to produce lithium carbonate. The market for lithium chemicals is expected to grow rapidly, reaching $1.2 billion globally by 2015, primarily from increased demand for batteries in electrical vehicles. Using this new technology and brine from its bromine production facility, Albemarle has successfully produced lithium carbonate in a lab setting and is currently operating a pilot plant to optimize the process. Commercial production could begin as early as 2013.