Plans for a half-billion dollar battery materials plant in St. Louis’ North Riverfront neighborhood are officially dead.
ICL Group Ltd., the Israeli-based global specialty minerals company that had proposed the $574 million project, announced the news in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning, saying it had “decided to discontinue its operations in the United States related to the establishment of a lithium iron phosphate cathode active material production facility.” ICL also noted that it would no longer be pursuing a similar production facility in Spain that would have been a joint venture with Shenzhen Dynanonic Co, Ltd.
Keep up with local business news and trends
Subscribe to the St. Louis Business newsletter to get the latest insights sent to your inbox every morning.
When the company was pursuing the St. Louis site last year, representatives said it would have made a key component for lithium batteries from raw materials at a scale not seen outside of China. The plant had been heralded as a big win for the city, with the expectation of 153 high-paying jobs after its opening and 1,000 construction jobs.
In Wednesday’s filing, ICL referenced the U.S. Department of Energy’s decision last month to eliminate a $197 million grant for the construction of the St. Louis facility. The grant was reportedly among 600 that were canceled by the Trump administration in areas involving renewable energy and related industries.
“The lack of such funding comes alongside global developments in the electric vehicle market that indicated lower demand levels than initially forecasted, as well as regulatory changes, including in the U.S. and China, that affected the projects’ economic feasibility, in addition to high required capital investments and significant operating costs,” the company wrote.
The North City plan had faced some community pushback, with some activists saying the plant would increase pollution in an already overburdened part of St. Louis. The incentives awarded to the project, which include real estate and personal property tax abatements at 90 percent for 10 years, also drew criticism.
ICL now plans to record a write-off of assets totalling about $40 million in its financial statements next quarter.
ICL president and CEO Elad Aharonson elaborated on the decision on a call with investors this morning where the company reported results for the third quarter.
“After a careful review of shifting external dynamics, it became apparent that this was the best course of action for ICL,” Aharonson explained. “With [an] increasing level of investments on one hand, lower than expected prices on the other hand, proceeding with our LFP battery materials project would have impeded our ability to develop other businesses.”
This coincides with the chemical company’s larger push into specialty crop nutrition and food solutions, both of which are expected to drive significant growth for the company and “provide greater shareholder value,” he said.
This doesn’t mean ICL plans to completely exit the battery materials business, as Aharonson clarified when answering an analyst’s question. “We are going to remain as a raw material provider to the battery industry, but we are not going to go one step downstream and get [into] this huge investment in the dynamic of the current market,” Aharonson explained.
This post has been updated.
