North America cross-border supply chain aimed at loosening China’s grip on battery minerals
On both sides of the US-Canada border, a regional electric vehicle (EV) supply chain is being created, with the potential to transform mining in Canada and loosen China’s grip on the minerals used in batteries.
While Canada has an abundance of nickel, cobalt, graphite and lithium, the country has little local production of EV batteries. But, as global demand surges, US and Canadian leaders have discussed a joint approach to benefit local miners and manufacturers, as well as cutting their reliance on Chinese imports.
“We’ve been betting 100 per cent on having a vertically integrated value chain in Canada,” says Arne Frandsen, managing partner and co-founder of investment group Pallinghurst, which has invested in graphite and lithium mines in Quebec.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, made EV production a national policy objective and set a goal to phase out the sale of petrol cars by 2040.
And one of his few excursions during the pandemic has been to a battery assembly plant owned by Lion Electric, the leading supplier of electric school buses in North America.
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