Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 65

Billions in new auto investment ‘just the beginning’ — Fedeli – by Dave Waddell (Windsor Star – January 18, 2023)

January 19, 2023

Ontario Minister of Economic Development Vic Fedeli is optimistic that landing the crown jewel of an electric battery factory in Windsor, as part of $16 billion in new automaker investments in the province over the past two years, represents just the beginning.

The transformation of the automotive sector is only in its infancy and Fedeli said Ontario is prioritizing building out the critical minerals mining and processing sector, landing a second battery plant and securing as much of the battery supply chain as possible.

Ontario has much at stake in Japan’s losing EV race – by David Olive (Toronto Star – January 19, 2023)

January 19, 2023

https://www.thestar.com/

Japan has ceded its leadership in consumer electronics. It’s in no one’s interest it follow that path in autos, not least the Ontario communities with a stake, David Olive writes.

Japan is at risk of losing the race in all-electric vehicles (EVs). And that poses a danger for southern Ontario, with its three Japanese auto plants. Among the 35 models in Bloomberg’s latest ranking of the best performing EVs only three are Japanese vehicles.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest automaker, concentrates on hybrid vehicles, which it pioneered with the first gas-electric Prius a quarter of a century ago. As do most Japanese automakers.

Chinese and Indonesian Workers Clash at Indonesian Nickel Plant – by Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat (The Diplomat – January 17, 2023)

January 18, 2023

https://thediplomat.com/

The violence, which resulted in the deaths of two workers, is likely to inflame anti-Chinese sentiment in the country.

Two workers were killed in clashes and rioting at an Indonesian nickel processing plant over the weekend, officials said yesterday. The demonstrations at the PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI) in Morowali, Central Sulawesi, ended in clashes between groups of Indonesian workers and foreign workers from China, leading to the deaths of two people, a Chinese and an Indonesian.

On Saturday, workers belonging to the National Workers’ Union (SPN) held a meeting with the company. During the meeting, the mass of SPN workers presented eight demands to the company, but no agreement was reached between the two parties at the meeting.

Biden’s Green Energy Bank Races to Leverage $394 Billion to Scale Cleantech – by Zahra Hirji and Ari Natter (Bloomberg News – January 17, 2023)

January 18, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — An obscure arm of the US Energy Department is racing against the clock to leverage as much as $394 billion to speed the country’s fight against climate change.

Mostly sidelined by the Trump administration, the agency’s Loan Programs Office has been revived under President Joe Biden and armed with more money following the passage last year of the country’s landmark climate law. But the office’s window of opportunity to support innovative low-carbon technologies could be short, with two years left in Biden’s term and no guarantee that a future president will prioritize it.

James Bay lithium mine wins federal approval amid Trudeau’s push to make Canada an EV player – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – January 17, 2023)

January 18, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

Quebec mine must adhere to 271 conditions, including measures to protect the environment

The federal government approved the construction of a lithium mine in northern Quebec, moving Brisbane, Australia-based Allkem Ltd.‘s project closer to the finish line, and moving Canada closer to being able to supply a highly sought metal that will be key to the energy transition.

Environment Minster Steven Guilbeault said Allkem’s Galaxy Lithium, which owns the project situated about 100 kilometres east of James Bay, and the Eastmain Cree community will need to adhere to 271 conditions, including measures to protect fish, birds, bats, wetlands, as well as lands and resources used by the Cree.

Lithium’s Next Big Risk is Grand Supply Plans Falling Short – by Annie Lee and Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – January 15, 2023)

January 16, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Electric-vehicle makers are hoping that an imminent wave of lithium supply will bring relief for their expansion plans after a two-year squeeze, but the battery metal’s die-hard bulls warn of more pain to come if producers fail to deliver.

Rampant lithium demand has caught many forecasters by surprise, with booming global EV sales causing consumption to double over the past two years. With suppliers unable to keep pace, a blistering price rally sent the total spot value of lithium consumption rocketing to about $35 billion in 2022, up from $3 billion in 2020, according to Bloomberg calculations.

India’s Foray Into the EV Battery Market Lacks Some Key Ingredients – by Swansy Afonso (Bloomberg News – January 10, 2023)

January 11, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — As the world tries to wean itself off dependence on China for crucial battery materials, India is taking bold steps to position itself as an alternative in the electric vehicle supply chain.

The government has unveiled incentives of at least $3.4 billion to expedite its lagging adoption of EVs as Prime Minister Narendra Modi vows to reach net zero by 2070. The idea is that manufacturing the costliest component — batteries — locally will make the end product more affordable for the mass market and set the country up as a potential exporter, tapping into surging global demand.

OPINION: Trudeau’s real North America agenda is reacting to Biden’s industrial strategy – by Campbell Clark (Globe and Mail – January 11, 2023)

January 11, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

It was nice that U.S. President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, tacked a Three Amigos summit with Justin Trudeau onto meetings about Mr. Biden’s more pressing issue: the Mexican border.

The idea of a common North American agenda seems a distant thing for the Mexican and U.S. presidents, both of whom are so wrapped up in domestic politics that there hasn’t been a lot of room for continental friendship.

Ruling in Thacker Pass lithium mine case expected within months – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – January 5, 2023)

January 11, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – A U.S. judge said on Thursday she will rule “in the next couple of months” on whether former President Donald Trump erred in 2021 when he approved Lithium Americas Corp’s (LAC.TO) Thacker Pass lithium mining project in northern Nevada.

The timeline further delays the company’s plans to build North America’s largest lithium mine even as Washington pushes to boost domestic production of metals crucial to the green energy transition and wean the country off Chinese supplies.

Vale weighs offers for stake in base metals business – by Madeleine Bruder (World News Era – January 10, 2023)

January 10, 2023

https://worldnewsera.com/

Vale has received multiple bids for a stake in its base metals business after talks with parties from carmakers to sovereign wealth funds, its chief executive said, as he predicted the division could become “even bigger” than the Brazilian mining group itself.

Eduardo Bartolomeo said “non-binding offers” had been made for the slice of up to 10 per cent of the unit, which produces materials vital for the energy transition and is being carved out as a standalone entity separate from Vale’s main iron ore operations.

Nickel market faces new shock as ‘Big Shot’ boosts metal output – by Alfred Cang, Jack Farchy and Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – January 2023)

January 10, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

The billionaire at the center of last year’s nickel short squeeze is planning a major shift in his production mix, in a move that could reshape global supply dynamics and inject fresh volatility into the battered nickel market.

Xiang Guangda’s Tsingshan Holding Group Co. is seeking to profit from an unusually large premium in the price of refined nickel metal – the type that is deliverable on exchanges in London and Shanghai – over the intermediate forms that Tsingshan supplies for battery manufacturing, according to people familiar with the matter.

Nickel Smelter Industry Activity In South Sulawesi Generates Public Protests – OpEd – by Silvanah (Eurasia Review – January 9, 2023)

January 9, 2023

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The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) noted that Indonesia has a nickel mine of 520,877.07 hectares (ha). The mines are spread across seven provinces, including Maluku, North Maluku, Papua, West Papua, South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi.

In 2020 the export value of Indonesia’s raw nickel ore is around $200 million. But in 2021 President Joko Widodo instituted a new ban on the export of raw ore in an effort to catalyze the domestic nickel processing industry.

This $136m lithium deal may be just the start of something big – by Peter Ker (Australian Financial Review – January 9, 2023)

January 9, 2023

https://www.afr.com/

They are the majority owners of Australia’s best lithium address, but now IGO Group and Chinese company Tianqi want to spend $136 million muscling into a second lithium province in Western Australia.

The companies, which have acted in partnership on lithium matters since late 2020, agreed to pay $136 million to acquire lithium explorer Essential Metals under a plan to get a foothold in the lithium production zone between Kalgoorlie and Norseman.

Electric vehicles: investors bank on China demand in plan to revive Australian nickel and cobalt refinery – by Eric Ng (South China Morning Post – January 9, 2023)

January 9, 2023

https://www.scmp.com/

A consortium of Hong Kong and European private investors are spending more than US$1 billion to revive a mothballed nickel and cobalt refinery in Australia by turning mining waste into lucrative materials for electric-car batteries.

They aim to turn the Yabulu refinery in Queensland into one of the world’s top 10 producers of refined nickel within 18 months to benefit from sustained demand and high prices for the metals, said Richard Petty, a Hong Kong-based businessman and one of the nine investors in the group.

Fate of Thacker Pass lithium mine permit to be decided soon, with 1872 Mining Law a focus – by Daniel Rothberg (Nevada Independent – January 8, 2023)

January 9, 2023

https://thenevadaindependent.com/

The interpretation of a 150-year-old mining law could be a part of whether a U.S. District Court judge upholds the federal government’s approval of a massive lithium mine — a project that has faced challenges from a local rancher, environmental groups and Native American tribes.

In legal briefs over the past two years, the mine’s opponents have challenged federal permitting of the planned Thacker Pass mine north of Winnemucca. Federal land managers, they argued, fast-tracked the project and did not adequately consider a number of issues in its environmental review — the mine’s footprint on wildlife habitat, groundwater, air quality and Indigenous sites.