LG Energy Solution has signed a 10-year agreement with U.S. lithium developer Smackover Lithium to receive 8,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate annually from the start of commercial production at the South West Arkansas project in 2029. The contract totals 80,000 tons, valued by industry estimates at about $1.5 billion, or approximately 2.1 trillion won, and could support production of roughly 1.8 million high-performance electric vehicles with driving ranges exceeding 500 kilometers. Smackover Lithium plans to use direct lithium extraction (DLE), a process that removes lithium from brine while reducing carbon emissions and land use compared with conventional open-pit mining. The agreement gives LG Energy Solution a U.S. source of lithium carbonate for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and other batteries, while meeting non-PFE (non-foreign entity of concern) standards and potentially supporting eligibility under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit requirements. Combined with the company’s eight North American production facilities, the deal completes an integrated local supply chain from raw materials to battery cells. LG Energy Solution is also diversifying supplies through agreements with Chile’s SQM and Australia’s Liontown.