Extraction and refining tech company EnergyX has signed a definitive 10-year offtake agreement with commodities multinational Trafigura for a total 100,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium.

EnergyX, formally known as Energy Exploration Technologies, said on October 13 the deal is worth more than $2 billion in revenue for EnergyX projects across lithium carbonate coming from its Project Black Giant in Chile and lithium hydroxide from Project Lonestar in Texas.

Trafigura will take 66% of phase one offtake from Black Giant and 30% of phase one from Lonestar.

Meanwhile, EnergyX is in talks with additional prospective buyers to reach 80% offtake as it moves toward commercial-scale production in 2028.

The agreement supports EnergyX’s financing activities — with offtake being a key requirement for a $690 million letter of intent from the US Export-Import Bank and additional project finance lenders.

EnergyX said the deal is a turning point for the firm, after proving its technology at pilot scale in a laboratory and at the company’s demonstration plants in the US and Chile, each of which it claims are the largest direct lithium extraction plants (DLE) in the respective countries.

EnergyX’s production will be powered by its proprietary GET-Lit DLE and refining technology.

“Offtake agreements are among the most important steps in taking a lithium project from development to production,” said Teague Egan, CEO of EnergyX who founded the company in 2018.

“A long-term purchase commitment from a counterparty of Trafigura’s scale and credit quality shows that the market wants EnergyX’s product. It also gives lenders and investors the revenue visibility they need before committing capital to commercial construction.”

Earlier this year, Italian energy giant Eni made a $225 million investment for a minority stake in Project Black Giant. EnergyX said in July the project, with planned capacity to produce up to 52,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate annually across the first two phases, was set to make it one of the largest lithium producers globally, as well as a world-leading direct lithium extraction technology manufacturing company.

The Chile investment boost came after EnergyX was selected to develop and operate a lithium processing facility on a US army base, in a first for a military installation in the country.