Trafigura has signed a binding 10-year offtake agreement for 100,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium products from EnergyX, the commodity trader announced — a deal that puts a decade of supply from projects in the USA and Chile behind a significant push into US battery plants.

Put the number in context: 100,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate equivalent stretches a long way downstream. Roughly speaking, that volume feeds cells for millions of EVs over the life of the contract, depending on chemistry. For a trader better known for oil and metals flows, this is a deliberate seat at the battery materials table.

What exactly was agreed?

The contract is binding, not a memorandum of understanding — a distinction that matters in a lithium sector fond of headline partnerships that quietly expire. EnergyX will supply battery-grade lithium products from its projects in the USA and Chile, the latter anchored by the Black Giant project in Antofagasta, a region that produces most of Chile's lithium.

Trafigura takes the offtake and, per the announcement, intends to route a significant portion of the material to US battery plants.

Why does this matter for US plants?

Two reasons, one commercial and one political.

• Commercial: US battery plants have spent the past three years scrambling for compliant, battery-grade supply. Long-term offtakes with traders give mid-tier cell makers access to volume without betting the balance sheet on a single miner.
• Political: Lithium processed outside China has become a procurement requirement, not a preference, under US incentive rules. Chilean and US-sourced product fits that bill in a way that Chinese-refined tonnes do not.

Trafigura hasn't named the destination plants. Until it does, treat "significant portion" as an intention, not a delivery schedule.

Who is EnergyX?

EnergyX is the supplier side of this deal — a lithium technology and extraction company developing the Black Giant project in Antofagasta, Chile, alongside US interests. As with any supplier announcement, the claim to verify is not the offtake signature but the production ramp behind it. Binding contracts are only as good as the tonnes that ship.

Takeaway: a trader now holds a decade of battery-grade lithium — the question is whether EnergyX can dig and refine it on schedule.

What to watch next

The first milestone is commissioning at the source projects, above all Black Giant. Watch for initial production dates from Antofagasta, any naming of the US battery-plant customers, and whether Trafigura discloses pricing mechanisms — fixed, indexed or floor-priced — which will say a lot about how seriously the market treats this deal.

A signature got the ink. Tonnage gets the verdict.