PHOENIX, Ariz., June 27 (Reuters) - Albemarle Corp (ALB.N) plans to build a lithium processing plant in the United States that would produce as much of the electric vehicle battery metal as the entire company produces today, executive Eric Norris said on Monday.

The plans for a plant with 100,000 tonnes of annual capacity are a bullish bet on the future of American lithium demand as Washington pushes for the country to rely less on China for electric vehicle building blocks. Norris did not give an estimate for the facility's cost or final location.

"There isn't enough (lithium) supply yet to supply the ambitions of the U.S.," Norris told the Fastmarkets Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials conference in Phoenix, Arizona. "This (processing plant) will be essential for our success in the future."