Business
Albemarle Announces Plans to Idle its Kemerton Lithium Hydroxide Processing Plant
Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), a global leader in providing essential elements for mobility, energy, connectivity and health, today announced it will idle the remaining operating train, Train 1, at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant in Western Australia and place it into care and maintenance effective immediately. Today's announcement follows actions in 2024 to place Train 2 into care and maintenance and to cease expansion plans for Trains 3 and 4.
About this update from Albemarle Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"Decision improves financial flexibility and preserves optionality ","length":65,"tagName":"p","attribs":{}},{"type":"text","content":"CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), a global leader in providing essential elements for mobility, energy, connectivity and health, today announced it will idle the remaining operating train, Train 1, at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant in Western Australia and place it into care and maintenance effective immediately. Today's announcement follows actions in 2024 to place Train 2 into care and maintenance and to cease expansion plans for Trains 3 and 4.","length":530,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"image","alt":"Albemarle Corp. Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Albemarle Corporation)","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"Albemarle Corp. Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Albemarle Corporation)","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":400,"height":60,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/cf1aba0a5c048b4ea16ac10a26f649f5"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/HFh5z1iKVeFjJuhgZK5oLw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTEwNjtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/cf1aba0a5c048b4ea16ac10a26f649f5","width":400,"height":60}},"href":"https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/75024/ALBEMARLE_CORPORATION_LOGO_updated.html","hrefExternal":true,"rel":"nofollow"},{"type":"text","content":"The Kemerton plant processes spodumene from the Greenbushes mine, one of the world's best spodumene resources. Albemarle holds ownership interest and half of the offtake rights from Greenbushes through an Australian joint venture. Kemerton, with its proven technology and commercial scale lithium hydroxide production, was built to enable the development of a Western lithium supply chain.","length":393,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":""Idling operations at Kemerton was a difficult decision. It follows significant actions we have taken over the past two and a half years to reduce operating costs during an extended period of price volatility in the market," said Kent Masters, Albemarle Chairman and CEO. "Unfortunately, recent lithium price improvements alone are not enough to offset the challenges facing Western hard-rock lithium conversion operations. This decision improves our financial flexibility and p...