HOUSTON, TX - (BUSINESS WIRE) - August 31, 2010
-- KBR (NYSE: KBR) announced that its Downstream business unit has been
awarded a contract to provide engineering and procurement services to
Chemetall Foote Corp. (a subsidiary of Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:
ROC)) for the addition of lithium hydroxide production at its current
operation in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The project is funded in
part by a $28.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to
expand and upgrade the production of lithium materials for advanced
transportation batteries.
The award of this contract follows the
execution by KBR of various development services from Front-End Loading
Feasibility through the current stage of the project. KBR will work in
support of Chemetall Foote to help the company meet its goal of
increasing lithium hydroxide production in response to an increase in
demand and forecasted growth of electric vehicles. The project is
expected to be completed by the end of 2011.
"This award is
significant as it represents a growing and relatively new industry
within the energy sector," said John Quinn, President, KBR Downstream.
"We are proud to build upon our existing relationship with Chemetall
Foote and look forward to applying and expanding our capabilities in a
growing market."
The DOE grant funding is provided under the
Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative
(DE-FOA-0000026) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA) that provides up to approximately $2 billion in federal stimulus
funding to support the creation of American jobs while promoting the
development of U.S.-based advanced battery production for the EDV
market.
KBR is a global engineering, construction and services
company supporting the energy, hydrocarbon, government services,
minerals, civil infrastructure, power and industrial markets.
For more
information, visit www.kbr.com.
Chemetall Foote, a member of the
Chemetall group headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, is the world's
leading manufacturer of lithium-based compounds and an innovative
developer of metal-based fine chemicals for use in specialty
applications. Chemetall's lithium-based compounds are used in a variety
of high growth applications, including base chemicals for numerous
industries, drug intermediates, elastomers for car tires and rubber
soles, lithium batteries, thermoplastic materials and high performance
greases.
Chemetall has lithium production facilities in the United
States, Chile, Germany and Taiwan. Rockwood Holdings, Inc., the parent
company of Chemetall, is a leading global specialty chemicals and
advanced materials company. Rockwood has a worldwide employee base of
approximately 9,500 people and annual net sales of approximately $3
billion. The company focuses on global niche segments of the specialty
chemicals, pigments and additives and advanced materials markets.
For
more information on Rockwood, please visit www.rocksp.com.