AMG Critical Materials is ramping up lithium hydroxide production at its Bitterfeld refinery in Germany while engineering a proposed 5,000-tonne-per-year facility to process recycled lithium carbonate. The Dutch-listed company said in its November 5 earnings release that the proposed plant is estimated to cost $50 million (about EUR45 million), with a German federal grant intended to fund 20% of the cost.
Refinery qualification remains under way
AMG reported that Bitterfeld was consistently producing material that met specified technical requirements while customer qualification work continued. The company was also selling material that customers had not yet qualified as battery-grade product.
Customer approval is a key commercial stage because battery manufacturers require strict purity and consistency. Operating successfully does not alone ensure access to targeted prices or long-term supply agreements, and the timing and economics of Bitterfeld’s ramp-up depend on refinery performance and downstream approval.
Recycling-linked facility remains at engineering stage
The proposed conversion facility is designed to process recycled lithium carbonate and feed technical-grade lithium hydroxide into Bitterfeld’s main upgrading system. AMG is engineering the project; it is not a completed or formally commissioned investment.
If developed, the facility could give European battery recyclers another route to refine recovered lithium into higher-value chemicals and reduce the need to send intermediate material to distant processing markets. AMG aims to build a European lithium refining and recycling hub.
Earnings guidance rises
AMG reported third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $78 million (about EUR69 million), up 22% from a year earlier. It raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to approximately $280 million (about EUR249 million).
The company cited stronger performance across its portfolio, including its Brazilian lithium operations, for the higher guidance. Stronger group earnings support continued investment but do not remove the risks of qualifying battery-grade products or financing the additional conversion capacity. The next indicators for Bitterfeld are volumes sold into qualified end markets and progress towards a binding construction decision on the recycling-linked project.
