Albemarle Corporation

In January 2000, the company acquired Ferro Corporation's PYRO-CHEK flame retardant business.

In June 2000, the company formed a joint venture with Jinhai Chemical and Industry Company, based in China.

In August 2000, the company launched PolymerAdditives.com, a business-to-business internet joint venture with Cytec Industries and General Electric to provide materials faster and more efficiently directly from trusted suppliers.

In 2001, it acquired Martinswerk GmbH, which it sold in 2016. It also acquired the custom and fine chemicals businesses of ChemFirst Inc. for $74 million.

In 2003, it acquired the fuel and lubricant antioxidants business of Ethyl Corporation. It also acquired the phosphorus-based polyurethane flame retardants businesses of Rhodia. It also acquired the bromine fine chemicals business of Atofina S.A.

In January 2004, the company acquired Asian flame retardants distributor Taerim International based in Seoul, South Korea.

In July 2004, Albemarle acquired the refinery catalysts platform from AkzoNobel, with sites and/or joint ventures in the Netherlands, Houston, France, Brazil, Japan and Singapore, for €615.7 million.

In 2006, in partnership with UOP, a subsidiary of Honeywell, Albemarle created the Hydroprocessing Alliance to deliver integrated refinery solutions and hydroprocessing technologies and catalysts to the refining industry. The partnership was ended in 2016.

In May 2007, Albemarle opened a regional sales office in Dubai to meet growing market needs in India and the Middle East.

In 2008, Albemarle and Sinobrom, a marketer of bromine derivatives in China, formed Sinobrom Albemarle Bromine Chemicals (Shandong) Company Ltd., a bromine-related joint venture.

In 2008, Albemarle acquired Sorbent Technologies Corporation, whose technology controls mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, for $22.5 million.

In 2009, Albemarle and TAYF, an affiliate of SABIC, created a catalysts joint venture to build a world-scale organometallics production facility in Jubail.

In January 2012, Albemarle expanded its production capabilities for finished polyolefin catalysts in Baton Rouge.

Albemarle also expanded its South Haven API production site and upgraded its multi-product cGMP active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility.

In 2014, Albemarle completed the sale of its antioxidant, ibuprofen and propofol businesses to SI Group.

In January 2015, Albemarle acquired Rockwood Holdings for $6.2 billion in stock. Albemarle then announced it would realign its global business units: Chemetall Surface Treatment, Refining Solutions and Performance Chemicals.

In August 2015, the company announced the relocation of its headquarters from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Charlotte, North Carolina.

In October 2015, Albemarle announced the separation of the bromine and lithium businesses, previously together under Performance Chemicals.

In December 2016, the company sold the Chemetall Surface Treatment business to BASF for $3.2 billion.

In January 2017, the company acquired the Jiangli New Materials Science and Technology Co. lithium business for $145 million.

In October 2019, the company formed a lithium joint venture with Mineral Resources.

In June 2021, Albermarle completed the sale of its Fine Chemistry Services (FCS) business to W. R. Grace & Co. for approximately $570 million. This sale included Albemarle's operations in Tyrone, Pennsylvania and South Haven, Michigan.

In January 2023, Albemarle Corporation launched the Ketjen subsidiary. Ketjen focused on advanced catalyst solutions for the petrochemical, refining and specialty chemicals industries.

In March 2026, Albemarle Corporation completed the sale of a controlling stake in Ketjen Corporation's refining catalyst solutions business to affiliates of KPS Capital Partners, LP (KPS).

Should this continue, then the traditional ways of life of people in this area may disappear, according to locals from San Pedro de Atacama who claim that this is a major concern of theirs They have explained that "We could very easily disappear. That's everybody's fear, I think, that we cease to exist, that we disappear entirely as a culture”, one local said in an interview with NPR. Additionally, the Chilean government plans to expand the lithium mining business until the year 2060.

Albemarle processes the lithium in the industrial complex of La Negra near the coast and 27 km southeast of the port city of Antofagasta.

Silver Peak, Nevada

Albemarle’s Silver Peak Lithium extraction site in Silver Peak, Nevada acts as the United States’ only active Lithium resource. The site began operations approximately 50 years ago and currently employs 60 people in order to produce technical grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide. Similarly to their site in Chile, Albemarle utilizes brine extraction to obtain lithium in the area. This process involves pumping of aquifers between 300 and 2000 ft. below the surface, allowing brine water to evaporate until its lithium concentration is high enough. Once the concentration is high enough the lithium will be refined at separate sites.

Silver Peak Nevada is home to many different species of plants and animals, who inhabit a wide range of habitats. These include alluvial plains, canyons, dense pinion and juniper woodlands. Other plant species include greasewood, low saltbush vegetation, and low sage brush communities. There are many large animal species present, including mule deer, bighorn sheep, raptor species like the burrowing owl and golden eagle, and rodents. Lithium mining threatens over 2,000 acres of nesting sites for various species, while also encroaching on the habitat of the federally protected Tiehm’s buckwheat wildflower, an endangered wildflower that evolved to survive on inhospitable lithium-boron rich soil.

The Biden administration’s focus on transitioning from carbon-based energies provides subsidies for lithium extraction companies, which has led to the construction of the Silver Peak lithium mine. However, this initiative poses no limits on water consumption of lithium mining corporations, and very few restrictions on mining practices. Like the Chilean Salt Flats, Silver Peak is an area that receives very little rainfall during the year and is incredibly dry. The area only receives about 4.45 inches of precipitation per year which is substantially less than other, more temperate states such as Pennsylvania which receives an average of over 41.53 inches of precipitation per year. In fact, Nevada is the driest state in America. Albemarle’s lithium extraction site utilizes over 4 billion gallons of water per year in order to meet its quota. The depletion of water has important environmental justice implications. Many people in this area are dependent on water resources to farm and raise cattle. The depletion of water, similarly to the Salar de Atacama, can erase traditional ways of life for people, endangering livelihoods and threatening the preservation of people’s cultures as a whole. “The community needs the water,” said a county commissioner from the area, “They don’t need to take away from our area to be able to produce green energy. We should be able to survive.”

King's Mountain, North Carolina

Currently there are plans in place by Albemarle to reopen a previously existing mine located in King’s Mountain, North Carolina. This area is a well-known Lithium resource and represents one of the few hard rock lithium deposits in the United States. It is part of the Carolina Tin-Spodumene belt within the Inner Piedmont terrane. It is believed to contain one of the largest hard-rock lithium resources on the planet. Hard rock deposits of lithium often can be mined in a more cost-effective manner since extraction is less labor intensive than salt flats or brine pools. Currently, Albemarle is seeking permission to reopen and expand the existing site. The initial permit application would allow the site to become active for a further 10 years.

Community members in King’s Mountain have argued against reopening the mine because of several issues resulting from lithium mining’s legacy there. Previously, the mine was operated from the 1950’s until the 1980’s and this history has resulted in elevated levels of pollutants that are uncommon, and as such are not federally regulated. This includes lithium. However, the history of lithium extraction processes in this area have also resulted in elevated levels of both cesium and rubidium. It is estimated that the resurgence of lithium extraction in the area could increase the presence of these metals in drinking water systems. These metals, cesium and rubidium can cause skin irritation, as well as can become toxic if ingested in large quantities.

There are already certain adverse effects caused by Albemarle’s lithium extraction in the area where the proposed mine is located. In Cleveland County, near King’s Mountain, Albemarle has begun to drain the old mine to reopen it, which has caused a process called turnover to occur. Turnover is the process by which surface water is cooled by the air, and then water sinks because it is denser. This causes the displacement of water at the bottom of the lake in which there are decomposed materials from historic lithium mining in the area. This causes the release of hydrogen sulfide gas into the air which results in a foul smell locals have been complaining about [54]. One local even said of the smell, “I’ve been around marshes and the beaches my whole life, all over, and never smelt the strength of this odor anywhere.”

The area in which this mine is being proposed is home to many different examples of wildlife which include white-tail deer, birds, frogs, as well as opossums, raccoons, bats, and other nocturnal creatures. There are over 542 species of plants that are present in the area as well. Lithium mining in the area has several concerns with the environment including the pollution of air and water which can endanger the health of animals, and degrade soil making it inhabitable for native plant species. As well as this, lithium mining can destroy habitats for wildlife, or erode healthy soil.