Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 68

Chinese Carmaker BYD Eyes Chilean Lithium Deals in Search for EV Fuel – by James Attwood, Yvonne Yue Li and Danny Lee (Bloomberg News – December 6, 2022)

December 6, 2022December 6, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Chinese electric-car juggernaut BYD Co. is looking to get into the lithium business in Latin America and Africa after prices of the key battery component surged to “unreasonable” and “not healthy” levels.

BYD is scouring the world for lithium supplies, Executive Vice President Stella Li said in an interview Tuesday. In Chile, it’s in talks to enter into a mining project and is applying for permits to process the raw material into cathode for batteries. The automaker is also looking to invest in African lithium projects, although it’s detected infrastructure shortfalls there.

The dirty road to clean energy: how China’s electric vehicle boom is ravaging the environment – by Antonia Timmerman (RestofWorld.org – November 28, 2022)

November 30, 2022

https://restofworld.org/

In neighboring Indonesia, nickel extraction is causing environmental and social devastation.

This March, a group of women gathered under the roof of a modest wooden shop in the Kurisa fishing village on Sulawesi, an Indonesian island east of Borneo. They held iced drinks in their hands and babies to their breasts.

It was a hot, dusty afternoon, and some of the older children were playing tag. The women were gossiping, but mostly, they talked about how there were no fish for their husbands to catch these days. “Making a living from the sea isn’t enough anymore,” said one woman. “Kurisa is dying.”

Calgary-based company secures $27M in federal funding to develop lithium extraction in oilpatch – by Josh Aldrich (Calgary Herald – November 28, 2022)

November 30, 2022

https://calgaryherald.com/

The goal for E3 Lithium is to separate lithium from the aquifer of the Leduc reservoir for use in EV and battery technology

Calgary-based E3 Lithium has secured $27 million in federal funding to help the company continue to progress toward extracting lithium from the province’s old oilfields.

The funding announced Monday is part of Innovation, Science and Economic Development’s Strategic Innovation Fund, which has put $6.8 billion toward 107 projects across Canada.

Global nickel cartel off the table as Canada’s trade minister rebuffs Indonesia’s approach – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – November 28, 2022)

November 30, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is keen to strengthen Canada’s relationship with Indonesia, but not so much so that it’s willing to join the nickel cartel that the emerging Asian power is trying to get off the ground.

“It’s an idea that Indonesia has proposed to us, but we are not looking at that particular model in the way that they have proposed,” Trade Minister Mary Ng said after she and three fellow cabinet ministers released the government’s first ever Indo-Pacific Strategy in Vancouver on Nov. 27.

Lithium exploration near Yellowknife could begin next year – by Sidney Cohen (CBC News North – November 29, 2022)

November 30, 2022

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Li-FT Power Ltd. proposes drilling near Hidden Lake and Bighill Lake

Lithium exploration near two Yellowknife-area lakes popular with hikers and paddlers could begin in 2023. On Nov. 23, Vancouver-based Li-FT Power Ltd. announced it had amalgamated with 1361516 B.C. Ltd. to acquire the Yellowknife Lithium Project. The project comprises 13 mineral leases, including properties near Hidden Lake and Bighill Lake.

Li-FT Power’s CEO, Francis MacDonald, says the company aims to begin drilling as soon as it gets its permits and water license, carries out community engagement, and hires drill contractors.

Graphite poised to do a lithium – by Frik Els (Mining.com – November 23, 2022)

November 24, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

Pressure on carmakers in the EV battery supply chain is only building.

Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) faced with an 8-fold increase in lithium prices, convulsions on the nickel market and ever-present worries about cobalt supply from the Congo, are being forced to look downstream to secure supply for their ambitious expansion plans.

Andy Miller, chief operating officer of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, told an annual industry gathering in Los Angeles last week that soaring lithium prices and LME nickel market turmoil are signs of the huge momentum that is building in the battery supply chain.

The Drift: Sudbury mine developer seeks to extract untapped critical minerals – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 23, 2022)

November 24, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Magna Mining completes acquisition of former Inco mine with growth plans afoot in the Sudbury camp

Sudbury is historically known for nickel. But there remain hundreds of millions of tonnes of overlooked and valuable mineral commodities left behind by mining activity over the decades.

An upstart mining company with ambitions to be Sudbury’s next producer is seizing on an opportunity to bring a former INCO mine back into production, possibly by the end of next year.

Canada’s battery supply credibility jumps as multi-billion announcements keep coming – by Mia Rabson (Canadian Press/CTV News – November 21, 2022)

November 21, 2022

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

OTTAWA – Federal Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is selling Canada’s battery-supply chain prowess in Asia again this week, but this time he has a new boast in his back pocket.

Research firm BloombergNEF pushed Canada’s position in its annual global ranking of battery-producing countries ahead of everyone else but China. “That’s something I’m going to use very much on my trip in Asia, to say we have what Asia needs,” Champagne said.

News Release: Vale and GM Sign Long-Term Nickel Supply Agreement in Canada Critical to North American EV Supply Chain (November 17, 2022)

November 17, 2022

TORONTO and DETROIT, Nov. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Vale Canada Limited, a subsidiary of Vale S.A., and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), announced today they have signed a term sheet for the long-term supply of battery grade nickel sulfate from Vale’s proposed plant at Bécancour, Québec, Canada. This agreement secures for GM a supply of nickel sulfate from a U.S. free-trade partner to support its fast-growing EV production needs in North America.

Under terms of the agreement, Vale will supply battery grade nickel sulfate, equivalent to 25,000 metric tons per year of contained nickel, for use in GM’s Ultium battery cathodes, which will power a broad portfolio of electric vehicles including the Chevrolet Silverado EV, Blazer EV and Equinox EV, the Cadillac LYRIQ, the GMC Sierra EV, and the GMC HUMMER EV Pickup and SUV. The amount of contained nickel is sufficient to supply approximately 350,000 EVs annually. Deliveries are targeted to commence in the second half of 2026.

Rock Tech drops lithium refinery plans in new Georgia Lake prefeasibility – by Colin McClelland (Northern Miner – November 16, 2022)

November 17, 2022

https://www.northernminer.com/

Rock Tech Lithium (TSXV: RCK) released a prefeasibility study for its Georgia Lake lithium project in northern Ontario showing lower resource grades and a reduced net present value, while dropping a plan to build a refinery.

The updated indicated resource comes to 10.6 million tonnes grading 0.88% lithium oxide, inferred resources of 4.2 million tonnes grading at 1% lithium oxide, the company announced on Wednesday. The study also included a first probable mineral reserve for Georgia Lake estimated at 7.3 million tonnes grading 0.82% lithium oxide.

The battery supply chain is finally coming to America – by Tom Randall (Bloomberg/Mining.com – November 15, 2022)

November 17, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

It’s official: the supply chain for electric vehicle batteries is coming to America. Redwood Materials Inc., the battery recycling company created by Tesla co-founder J.B. Straubel, said it has reached a deal to supply Panasonic with billions of dollars in critical battery components that will be produced in the US for the first time.

The agreement marks the first major contract for domestically processed cathode material, a substance that’s responsible for more than one third of the expense of a finished battery pack.

A new mine could position Quebec as a lithium leader, but its rocky past worries locals – by Kate McKenna (CBC News Montreal – November 15, 2022)

November 16, 2022

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/

It could be a boon for a small community, but critics brace for impact after history of failures and spills

In an expansive open-air pit 550 kilometres northwest of Montreal, 100-tonne trucks criss-cross the climbing roads, preparing for the mine to open.

The chalk-white veins of those rocks have metals inside, including one of the most sought-after minerals in the world: lithium, a key component of electric car batteries.

Investing in lithium mines may shield electric-vehicle makers from rising prices – by Anthony Barich (SP Global – November 2022)

November 16, 2022

https://www.spglobal.com/

It is time for electric-vehicle makers to go beyond lithium off-take agreements and get more involved in mining and processing, industry observers said.

Recent price increases for certain metals showed their vulnerability to supply chain disruptions, which threaten to boost the cost of clean energy technologies and slow their deployment, the International Energy Agency, or IEA, said in its World Energy Outlook 2022, published Oct. 27.

Battery storage tops list for climate tech investors: ESG survey – by Natasha White and Lisa Pham (Bloomberg News – November 15, 2022)

November 16, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — At least $369 billion. That’s the amount of money made available to bolster clean energy from the landmark Inflation Reduction Act.

And investors are circling. Opportunities range from renewable and nuclear energy to electric vehicles and newer technologies such as batteries, hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization and storage.

Indonesia proposes to Canada setting up OPEC-like group for nickel – by Staff (Reuters – November 16, 2022)

November 16, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Indonesia has proposed in talks with Canada establishing an OPEC-like organisation for nickel producing countries, the Southeast Asian nation’s investment ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Indonesia and Canada are the first and sixth biggest nickel producers in the world, respectively. The proposal was made when Indonesian Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia met Canada’s International Trade Minister Mary Ng on Tuesday on the sideline of the G20 summit in Bali.