Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 74

The key minerals in an EV battery – by Visual Capitalist (Mining.com – May 2, 2022)

May 4, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

Breaking Down the Key Minerals in an EV Battery

Inside practically every electric vehicle (EV) is a lithium-ion battery that depends on several key minerals that help power it. Some minerals make up intricate parts within the cell to ensure the flow of electrical current. Others protect it from accidental damage on the outside.

This infographic uses data from the European Federation for Transport and Environment to break down the key minerals in an EV battery. The mineral content is based on the ‘average 2020 battery’, which refers to the weighted average of battery chemistries on the market in 2020.

NEWS RELEASE: Battery electric vehicles from Canada will lower diesel emissions in mining (May 2, 2022)

May 4, 2022

Canadian manufacturer Miller Technology becoming a global leader in battery electric utility vehicles for mining

NORTH BAY — April 29, 2022: Miller Technology is pleased to announce the first sale of its new battery electric utility vehicle for mining to the Young-Davidson Mine of Canadian mining company Alamos Gold Inc.

“This is a great day for Miller, for North Bay, for Northern Ontario and for Canada,” said Dan Bachand, the CEO of Miller.

Also joining the press conference at Miller was the Member of Parliament for Nipissing-Timiskaming, Anthony Rota, the Member of Provincial Parliament for Nipissing, Vic Fedeli, and the General Manager of the Matachewan-located Young-Davidson Mine, Léon Grondin-Leblanc.

Why Lithium Mining For EV Batteries Should Be Our ‘Absolute Last Resort’ – by Kea Wilson (Streets Blog USA – May 3, 2022)

May 4, 2022

https://usa.streetsblog.org/

Lithium mining is having a devastating impact on local and indigenous communities as well as ecosystems around the globe, and reducing dependence on automobiles must be a key part of our strategy to curb the damage, a new report says.

According to a new analysis from the Natural Resources Defense Council, the rapid expansion of the electric vehicle battery market is driving a boom in demand for lithium carbonate, a synthesized compound whose key component — lithium itself — is derived from just a tiny handful of natural deposits located throughout the world.

Canada in ‘active discussions’ with EV supply chain companies – minister – by Steve Scherer (Reuters – May 4, 2022)

May 4, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

Canada is talking to a number of companies interested in setting up production in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, the industry minister said, as the government seeks to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 and play a role in the shift toward greener cars.

There are “very active discussions with a number of players” to develop an EV supply chain, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in an interview last week. Champagne did not name the companies, only saying he spoke to representatives of Volkswagen last week, and has recently talked to executives from companies in the United States, Japan and Korea.

Could there be another lithium processing plant coming to Thunder Bay? – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – May 2, 2022)

May 3, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Australia’s Green Technology Metals has been scoping out the city for a processing plant site

Thunder Bay was once known as one of the forest products manufacturing capitals of Canada. These days, the city looks to be shaping up to become the North American centre of lithium processing for the electric vehicle revolution.

Australia’s Green Technology Metals is looking to fast-track one of its four lithium properties in the Armstrong area of northwestern Ontario into mine production. The company is further eyeballing Thunder Bay as a regional processing hub to convert lithium concentrate mined from its flagship Seymour Project into battery-grade material for the electric vehicle industry.

Biden administration making $3 billion investment in lithium ion battery production – by Betsy Klein (CNN.com – May 2, 2022)

May 3, 2022

https://edition.cnn.com/

(CNN)President Joe Biden is building on his electric vehicle goal with a $3 billion investment Monday aimed at boosting the US supply of lithium ion batteries through the bipartisan infrastructure package.

The move is aimed at fighting climate change, but also to make the US more energy independent and secure, officials said, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted global oil markets.

Biden Administration Begins $3 Billion Plan for Electric Car Batteries – by Lisa Friedman (New York Times – May 2, 2022)

May 2, 2022

https://www.nytimes.com/

The Biden administration is planning a major shift to electric vehicles, but experts say it requires a secure, resilient supply of critical minerals.

The Biden administration plans to begin a $3.1 billion effort on Monday to spur the domestic production of advanced batteries, which are essential to its plan to speed the adoption of electric vehicles and renewable energy.

President Biden has prodded automakers to churn out electric vehicles and utilities to switch to solar, wind and other clean energy, saying the transitions are critical to eliminating the pollution that is dangerously heating the planet.

Biden order to boost mining may not have quick payoff – by Matthew Daly (Associated Press/Yahoo Finance – April 30, 2022)

May 2, 2022

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is turning to a Cold War-era law to boost production of lithium and other minerals used to power electric vehicles, but experts say the move by itself is unlikely to ensure the robust domestic mining Biden seeks as he promotes cleaner energy sources.

Biden’s action, part of his efforts to find alternatives to fossil fuels and combat climate change, does not waive or suspend existing environmental and labor standards, the White House said. Nor does it address the chief hurdle to increased domestic extraction of so-called critical minerals: the years-long process needed to obtain a federal permit for a new mine.

Ontario car plants get $1B boost to build electric vehicles – by Rob Ferguson (Toronto Star – May 2, 2022)

May 2, 2022May 2, 2022

https://www.thestar.com/

On the eve of Ontario’s June 2 election call, Chrysler and Dodge factories in Brampton and Windsor are getting a $1-billion infusion from the federal and provincial governments to build the next generation of hybrid and electric vehicles.

The money for the automakers’ parent company, Stellantis, goes toward flexible vehicle assembly lines as the 3,000-employee Brampton plant was preparing to lose production of muscle cars like the V-8 Dodge Challenger to a factory in Illinois, where new electric versions will be made.

Skyrocketing Lithium Prices Highlight Need For New Technologies – by David Blackmon (Forbes Magazine – May 2, 2022)

May 2, 2022

https://www.forbes.com/

Concerns over the ultimate availability of adequate supplies of lithium and other minerals that are critical to the energy transition have elevated recently. On April 8, Tesla and SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk tweeted that he was considering starting his own mining company in light of rising prices for lithium, which he said had reached “insane levels.”

“Tesla might actually have to get into the mining & refining directly at scale, unless costs improve,” Musk said in his tweet. “There is no shortage of the element itself, as lithium is almost everywhere on Earth, but pace of extraction/refinement is slow.”

The Geopolitics of the Rare-Metals Race – by Guillaume Pitron (The Washington Quarterly – April 25, 2022)

May 2, 2022

The Washington Quarterly

The 20th century was the era of black gold; the 21st will
undoubtedly be the era of metals

In 2010, a team of Pentagon officials and American geologists uncovered Afghanistan’s best kept secret: a plethora of mining resources such as lithium, copper, cobalt—including 1.4 million metric tons of rare-earth elements, estimated to be worth more than $1 trillion, all of them essential to modern industry.

After this development, Afghanistan, according to The New York Times, rapidly became heralded as a country which could “be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world.” More than a decade later, however, US forces filing out of Afghanistan were leaving these resources untapped, attracting the interest of neighboring nations.

Top Bid for Lithium Up 140% After Musk’s ‘Insane Levels’ Call – by Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – April 28, 2022)

April 29, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The highest bid for lithium at an online sale surged by 140% in just six months, an indication the stampede for supplies of the main ingredient used in electric vehicle batteries could get even more intense.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd.’s auction of spodumene concentrate — a partly-processed form of lithium — attracted a top bid of $5,650 a ton on Wednesday for a cargo of 5,000 tons. That compares with $2,350 at the previous sale in late October on the Australian miner’s Battery Metal Exchange.

Column: Europe urgently needs an accelerator in critical metals race – by Andy Home (Reuters – April 29, 2022)

April 29, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) – Europe is running out of time to secure the metals it needs to power the energy transition. The region’s import dependency for enabling metals was already high and has turned critical since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has historically been a major supplier of aluminium nickel and platinum to the European market, while the European Union had high hopes of folding Ukraine into its battery sector build-out. Even worse, what Russia calls its “special operation” has sent European power prices soaring, forcing energy-intensive aluminium and zinc smelters to close or reduce output.

Ontario budget promises billions for infrastructure, critical minerals; could eliminate deficit sooner than expected – by Barbara Shecter (Financial Post – April 28, 2022)

April 28, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

Doug Ford’s government said the economic recovery plan could eliminate Ontario’s deficit two years earlier than projected

In a budget delivered just over a month before voters head to the polls, in what amounts to an election platform, the Ontario government is promising to invest billions of dollars during the next three to five years to shore up infrastructure, boost the supply of critical minerals and commercialize promising technologies.

Despite the spending, the government said the economic recovery plan laid out Thursday could eliminate Ontario’s deficit two years earlier than projected in the 2021 budget.

Battery-mineral shortage likely to impede Canada’s goals for electric vehicles, industry expert says – by Jonathan Migneault (CBC News Sudbury – April 28, 2022)

April 28, 2022

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

Steve LeVine says the world only produces enough nickel to meet half the demand for EVs

It’s unlikely automakers will be able to meet their projections for electric vehicles (EV) as demand for the critical minerals that make up the batteries for them continues to rise, according to a noted business journalist.

Steve LeVine is editor of The Electric, a publication that focuses on electric vehicles and the lithium ion batteries that power them. LeVine, who’s based in Washington, said the world’s mines only produce around half of the critical minerals necessary to meet the auto industry’s EV goals.