Lithium Universe (ASX: LU7) is confident that the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its Bécancour lithium refinery in Canada remains on track for release next quarter.

Located in Québec, the refinery is a key piece of infrastructure in Lithium Universe’s strategy to close the North American ‘lithium conversion gap’.

The fast-tracked DFS is progressing well following the company’s successful completion of a preliminary feasibility study (PFS) for the refinery in late September, less than 12 months since global engineering firm Hatch was contracted for the task.

Accelerated efforts

Following the PFS release, the Hatch/Lithium Universe project team has accelerated efforts to finalise capital cost estimates for the upcoming DFS.

The company’s head of lithium refinery John Loxton stated that, while the process designs and equipment outlined in the PFS remain unchanged, the next crucial step involves obtaining the remaining fixed-price quotations from vendors.

“Leveraging extensive data from our reference plant has significantly streamlined the process, making it both faster and more cost-effective,” Mr Loxton said.

“While some new work includes civil and design elements specific to the new site conditions, the majority of the engineering is based on the reference plant.”

Equipment suppliers

DFS activities are focused on finalising interactions with equipment suppliers, who have been called on to provide either a firm offer or a budget price depending on the significance of a package considering cost, lead time and technical specifications.

While fine-tuning of pricing is progressing, design criteria documents for all engineering disciplines have been finalised, with 80% of supplier interactions now complete.

This progress has allowed the engineering team to move toward finalising material take-offs and related deliverables based on the reference plant.

These outputs will be incorporated into the final capital cost estimate and will also inform the project’s execution schedule.

Capital cost estimate

Efforts are now centred on refining the capital cost estimate to achieve an accuracy of within 20%, with minimal reliance on factored estimates.

Meanwhile, the feasibility engineering design for aspects unique to the Bécancour plant such as the process plant building, site earthworks and drainage is well advanced.

Major engineering activities including the finalisation of the plant layout and the preparation of documentation for key equipment packages have been completed, as have other key tasks such as creating the main power distribution single-line diagram and providing clarifications during the pricing processes.

Independent supply

By developing a mine-to-battery-grade lithium carbonate strategy in Québec, Lithium Universe aims to play a role in reducing the region’s dependence on Chinese lithium converters.

North America is facing a surge in battery manufacturing needs, with over 20 major manufacturers planning to deploy an estimated 1,000 gigawatts of battery capacity.

The company estimates that 850,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent will be required each year by 2028 to satisfy demand in North America.