Who Buys Albemarle's Lithium? Inside the World's Largest Lithium Producer

Albemarle mines and refines more lithium than anyone else on earth, feeding the batteries inside millions of EVs. Here's who buys its lithium hydroxide, where the ore comes from, and why one mine matters so much.

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Aug 9, 2026 · 2 min read

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Every EV battery needs lithium, and Albemarle Corporation supplies more of it than any other company on earth. It mines spodumene ore and brine across Australia, Chile, and the US, then refines that into the battery-grade lithium hydroxide that EV and battery makers buy.

The short answer

Albemarle's supply chain runs from mine to battery plant:

• Who buys it: Tesla and General Motors use Albemarle's lithium hydroxide for their own battery cells; LG Energy Solution buys it to make cells for other automakers.
• Where the ore comes from: Australia's Greenbushes mine, jointly owned with Tianqi Lithium and IGO Limited, is the highest-grade hard-rock lithium deposit known.
• What runs the mines: Caterpillar's haul trucks and Metso's crushing and flotation equipment process the ore before it ever reaches a refinery.

The full interactive map is on Albemarle's supply chain page.

Who depends on Albemarle's lithium

Tesla is a major buyer, using battery-grade lithium hydroxide directly in its Gigafactory cell production. General Motors has a long-term supply agreement for its Ultium battery platform, and LG Energy Solution, South Korea's largest battery-cell maker, buys Albemarle's high-purity lithium hydroxide for the cylindrical and pouch cells it sells across the auto industry. None of these companies mine lithium. They rely on refiners like Albemarle to turn raw ore into something a battery plant can use.

Where the lithium comes from

Albemarle's most important asset is Greenbushes, a mine in Western Australia that produces the highest-grade hard-rock lithium ore in the world. Albemarle doesn't own it outright: Tianqi Lithium, a Chinese lithium producer, holds roughly 26% through the TLEA joint venture, and IGO Limited of Australia holds close to 25% through the same structure. A second joint venture, MARBL, pairs Albemarle with Mineral Resources to run the Wodgina mine in the same region. Between them, these partnerships account for a large share of the world's highest-quality lithium supply.

What keeps the mines running

Mining and processing lithium ore at this scale takes heavy equipment. Caterpillar supplies the autonomous and conventional haul trucks, excavators, and drilling rigs that move ore at Albemarle's open-pit operations, and Metso supplies the crushers, mills, and flotation cells that concentrate that ore before it heads to a lithium hydroxide refinery.

See it for yourself

The full tier-by-tier breakdown, with live tickers for every company in Albemarle's supply chain, is on Albemarle's supply chain map.