Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 63

Weighing the harm of gasoline against lithium – by Barry Saxifrage (National Observer – February 8, 2023)

February 9, 2023

https://www.nationalobserver.com/

More than a billion tonnes of climate pollution pours out American tailpipes every year. For scale, that’s more than the combined emissions from the 100 least-polluting nations.

Ending this gargantuan climate pollution disaster will require a sharp increase in new lithium extraction to build the zero-emission alternatives — battery electric vehicles. A new report by the University of California, Davis and the Climate and Community Project (CCP) reveals just how much more lithium will be needed.

Column: Cobalt price slump triggers lift-off in futures trading – by Andy Home (Reuters – February 7, 2023)

February 9, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Cobalt prices have crashed over the last six months with demand growth slowing just as a wave of new supply washes through the market. After hitting a four-year high of $40 per lb in May last year, cobalt has slumped to $17 per lb, extending a long history of boom-and-bust price cycles.

There were hopes that this time might be different, thanks to rising demand from the electric vehicle (EV) sector but not all battery inputs are equal when it comes to the bullish narrative around “green” metals.

There isn’t enough copper in the world — and the shortage could last till 2030 – by Lee Ying Shan (CNBC.com – February 6, 2023)

February 7, 2023

https://www.cnbc.com/

A copper deficit is set to inundate global markets throughout 2023 — and one analyst predicts the shortfall could potentially extend throughout the rest of the decade.

The world is currently facing a global copper shortage, fueled by increasingly challenging supply streams in South America and higher demand pressures. Copper is a leading pulse check for economic health due to its incorporation in various uses such as electrical equipment and industrial machinery.

Sudbury is at the ‘epicentre’ of the electric vehicle boom, says economic development minister – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – February 7, 2023)

February 7, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Vic Fedeli predicts exciting year ahead for Northern Ontario on the critical minerals development front

There’s a window of opportunity for Ontario to be part of the electrical vehicle revolution, said Vic Fedeli, the province’s economic development minister, and Ontario needs to move fast to secure its global position.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and Northern Ontario’s place in the global transition to clean energy technologies took up much of Fedeli’s speech before a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce crowd on Feb. 6.

The fossil-fuel elephant in the electrification room – by Rick Mills (Ahead of the Herd – February 5, 2023)

February 7, 2023

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The transition from fossil fuels to electrified transportation and renewable energy is predicated on two assumptions: that there will be enough raw materials to make this change; and that eventually we won’t require fossil fuels anymore. Both of these claims are false.

The United States and its allies, such as Canada, the UK, the European Union, Australia, Japan and South Korea, face a dilemma when it comes to the global electrification of the transportation system and the switch from fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy.

Where trapping is still a way of life, Quebec lithium projects spark fears for future – by Stéphane Blais (Global News/Canadian Press – February 6, 2023)

February 7, 2023

https://globalnews.ca/

As Freddy Jolly’s pickup truck travels the dusty roads through the spruce forests outside Nemaska, Que., the one radio station fades in and out, and Jolly fills the gaps between country ballads with conversation. “There are fewer moose than before due to logging,” Jolly says as he scans the horizon.

This is Eeyou Istchee in northern Quebec, the traditional land of the James Bay Cree, with a surface area equivalent to two-thirds of France. The 65-year-old Cree hunter and trapper knows the land well and has agreed to take a visitor to see sites where lithium mines are under construction.

Like Musk, nickel-rich Indonesia has high electric vehicle ambitions – by Fransiska Nangoy, Gayatri Suroyo and Bernadette Christina (Reuters – February 6, 2023)

February 7, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Armed with the world’s largest reserves of nickel and a ban on the export of nickel ore, Indonesia is making itself indispensable for the electric vehicle industry, which uses the metal extensively.

In just three years, Indonesia has signed more than a dozen deals worth more than $15 billion for battery and electric vehicle production in the country with manufacturers including Hyundai Motor (005380.KS), LG Group (003550.KS) and Foxconn (2317.T).

Canada needs to move quickly on production of critical minerals, IEA says – by Marieke Walsh and Emma Graney (Globe and Mail – February 2d, 2023)

February 3, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada needs to quickly ramp up production of critical minerals and play a global leadership role to defend against energy security crises triggered by countries that use fossil fuels as a weapon, said the head of the International Energy Agency.

During a government-organized panel discussion in Ottawa Wednesday, Fatih Birol warned that the energy shortages currently gripping Europe could be repeated as the world transitions to cleaner fuels, if Western countries do not increase the availability of rare earth minerals and develop friendlier sources of them.

Copper’s Fight for Critical Mineral Status Gets Political Push – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – February 2023)

February 3, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Some of the biggest names in copper have found high-ranking political allies to support their efforts to get the wiring metal added to a list of minerals deemed critical to the US.

Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an Independent from Arizona, sent a letter with other lawmakers on Thursday urging Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to “revisit and reconsider the designation of copper as a critical mineral.”

How a Soviet nuclear site could be key to Europe’s EV market – by Ott Tammik (Bloomberg News – February 1, 2023)

February 1, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

On the edge of Sillamae, a town of just over 12,000 people in northeast Estonia, sits a grassy hill with a secret. It’s here, on the Baltic Sea coast close to the Russian border, where the past is buried. And it’s here, according to one company, where the future lies if Europe wants to loosen China’s grip on the supply of components to industries seen as critical to the continent’s economy.

The artificial mound covers a radioactive pond from when the town covertly processed uranium for the Soviet nuclear industry until 1989. Today, the adjacent facilities are home to oil and fertilizer storage terminals, but also the only major processing plant outside Asia for rare earth metals used in the automotive industry.

NAL offtakes in the pipeline – Piedmont – by Esmarie Iannucci (MiningWeekly – February 1, 2023)

February 1, 2023

https://www.miningweekly.com/

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The joint venture (JV) partners of the North American Lithium (NAL) operation, in Quebec, are hoping to finalise offtake agreements over the project by the end of March this year.

Global lithium developer Piedmont Lithium president and CEO Keith Phillips told Mining Weekly Online that at 130 000 t/y, Piedmont would be the biggest buyer of NAL product, of which nearly half would be sold to third-party buyers.

Nickel Gets Fresh Supply Risk as Philippines Mulls Export Tax – by Manolo Serapio Jr and Andreo Calonzo (Bloomberg News – January 30, 2023)

February 1, 2023

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The Philippines, the world’s second-biggest nickel supplier, may follow neighboring Indonesia by taxing exports of the metal, adding to supply uncertainties as the market adjusts to a wave of new demand from electric vehicles.

The Southeast Asian nation is considering fees on exports among measures to encourage investment in processing plants, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said in an interview in her office on Monday.

Massive new North American lithium mine closer to reality with GM investment in Lithium Americas – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 31, 2023)

February 1, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Lithium Americas Corp. has landed a US$650-million financing with General Motors Co. that moves the Canadian lithium company closer to breaking ground on a massive lithium mine that should help alleviate a North American shortfall for the key battery metal.

Detroit-based GM is set to become the largest shareholder in Lithium Americas, with a stake of just under 10 per cent, and it will also be entitled to exclusive supplies of the lithium carbonate produced during the first 10 years of the mine’s operation.

Germany falls behind in the global race for lithium – by Tobias Käufer (DW.com – January 28, 2023)

January 30, 2023

https://www.dw.com/en/

Berlin trails global powers like China and the US in acquiring lithium, a key component in electric vehicle batteries. German Chancellor Scholz will address the issue on his trip to South America this weekend.

Roughly 57% of the world’s lithium deposits are found in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Because it’s used in electric vehicle battery production, the natural resource is highly sought-after. Globally, the Chinese have invested billions to ensure their place at the front of the line. The US, too, is in a better position than its European partners.

The mining conundrum — responsibly sourcing green technology minerals in conflict zones – by Kim Polley (Daily Maverick – January 29, 2023)

January 30, 2023

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/

Responsible sourcing should be at the top of the agenda for multinationals. But many green technologies — which we advocate in our war on climate change — rely on the use of minerals sourced in high-risk areas with poor human rights records.

In the last 12 months, the world came out of a heightened state of pandemic panic and headed directly into climate crisis consciousness. Amid a tornado of messages predicting the end of the world, it’s no wonder that people are scrambling to find someone to blame. And predictably, big business makes an outsized climate catastrophe target.

Practically speaking, stakeholder expectations around safety, environmental management, decarbonisation and corporate responsibility have become increasingly difficult to navigate.