The Element 25 Ltd (ASX: E25) share price is starting the week with a bang.
In morning trade, the manganese producer's shares are up over 15% to $1.11.
Why is this ASX mining share racing higher?
Investors have been bidding the Element 25 share price higher today after the company announced an agreement with an auto giant.
According to the release, the company has signed a binding agreement with Stellantis N.V. to supply battery-grade high purity, manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) from its proposed USA-based HPMSM processing facility.
Stellantis is the name behind a range of popular auto brands including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Peugeot.
The release advises that the agreement combines take or pay offtake commitments for 45Kt of HPMSM from the facility over five years. In addition, Stellantis will part-fund the development of Element 25's HPMSM processing facility with a US$30 million investment across two tranches
A 'fantastic endorsement'
Element 25's managing director, Justin Brown, appeared to be delighted with the news. He commented:
Stellantis' support for Element 25's high purity battery-grade manganese sulphate project is a fantastic endorsement by one of the world's largest automakers and supports our plans to become a globally significant long-term supplier of battery materials to meet growing global demand. We are fully aligned with Stellantis' decarbonisation and electrification goals, which represent some of the most ambitious in the industry and E25 have a pathway to reach agreed net zero carbon emission goals under this deal.
This is an important step in the delivery of our first production module which will combine Element 25's innovative processing flowsheet and the high quality, ethically sourced manganese concentrate from our 100%-owned Butcherbird Project in Western Australia to deliver sustainable, ethically sourced battery grade manganese to the electric vehicle industry.
