Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 76

Why Lithium Power Politics Are Playing Out Very Differently in Chile and Bolivia – by Vijay Prashad and Taroa Zúñiga Silva (Counter Currents.org – August 19, 2022)

August 23, 2022

In late July, a large sinkhole appeared near the town of Tierra Amarilla in Chile’s Copiapó province in the Atacama salt flat. The crater, which has a diameter of more than 100 feet, emerged in one of Chile’s most lucrative regions for copper and lithium extraction.

The nearby Candelaria mining complex—80 percent of the property is owned by Canada’s Lundin Mining Corporation and 20 percent is owned by Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd. and Sumitomo Corporation—had to halt its operations in the area.

China Lithium Prices Near Record as Power Cuts Squeeze Market – by Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – August 23, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Prices of lithium in China are close to a record high as a power crisis in the nation’s major hub for the vital electric-vehicle battery ingredient threatens an already-tight market.

Sichuan, home to more than a fifth of China’s lithium production, extended industrial power cuts this week amid the most intense heat wave in more than a half century. The supply disruptions in the province are set to add fuel to the battery metal’s stunning rally in the past year, with lithium carbonate prices on Monday reaching the highest level since April at 484,500 yuan ($70,610) a ton.

As Canada’s EV battery eco-system takes shape, ‘matchmaker’ Champagne eyes microchips – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – August 18, 2022)

August 23, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

Champagne believes Canada can become a manufacturer of the specialized processors, a necessary component for all new cars

Two years ago, Canada’s goal of developing an electric vehicle battery eco-system was still in the “envisioning” stage, as Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne puts it.

Today, the supply chain build-out is fast becoming a reality, with the country’s first battery and cathode manufacturing plants underway and a record $3.8 billion allocated for the nation’s critical minerals strategy in the latest federal budget.

Billionaires Like Bill Gates Are Mining for Cobalt in Greenland. Are They Heroes or Villains? – by Caroline Delbert (Popular Mechanics – August 18, 2022)

August 19, 2022

https://www.popularmechanics.com/

With sea ice receding, billionaires want to mine Greenland for rare Earth metals to power batteries. It could be part of a climate solution … or “a perfect symbol for our dystopian times.”

Earlier this month, CNN published a piece provocatively titled “Billionaires are funding a massive treasure hunt in Greenland as ice vanishes.” In the story, reporter René Marsh explains that investors including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have helped fund an expedition to explore the mineral wealths of Greenland, a feat made easier by the ravages of climate change.

It inspired a ton of predictable responses about billionaires dancing on Earth’s grave. But the participating startup, KoBold Metals, says the materials it wants to mine—nickel and cobalt—will actually help us fight climate change more effectively. But can both takes be true at once? We spoke to a few experts to find out.

Column: U.S. hits the EV accelerator to cut Chinese metals ties – by Andy Home Reuters – August 16, 2022)

August 18, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) – The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes the “largest investment ever in combating the existential crisis of climate change”, according to President Joe Biden, who will sign the bill into law later on Tuesday.

Around $369 billion of federal funds will flow into climate change and energy security, boosting domestic capacity to produce wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles. However, the green investment comes with a metallic sting in the tail. The IRA extends and expands the existing electric vehicle (EV) subsidy of up to $7,500 but conditions the tax credit on the sourcing of the mineral content of the battery.

Inflation doesn’t halt company’s hopes for its Temiskaming cobalt refinery – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – August 15, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Electra Battery Materials aims for spring 2023 plant startup

Inflation and supply chain issues are pumping up the price tag for Electra Battery Materials to bring a Temiskaming refinery back to life. It will delay the plant’s startup, originally scheduled for December, moving the commissioning to the spring of 2023.

Toronto-based Electra is feeling the domino effect of the industry-wide price and supply-chain pinch, especially coming out of Asia. The original capital budget of US$67 million to refurbish and expand the former Yukon refinery is now looking more in the range of US$76 million to US$80 million.

Giga Metals, Mitsubishi to jointly develop Turnagain nickel deposit in Canada – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 15, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

Junior Giga Metals (TSX-V: GIGA) and global trading and investment firm Mitsubishi Corporation agreed on Monday to form a joint venture company, Hard Creek Nickel Corp, to develop the Turnagain nickel-cobalt deposit in northern British Columbia.

As part of the deal, Mitsubishi will acquire a 15% equity interest in the joint venture firm for C$8 million ($6.2m) cash. Giga will receive an 85% equity interest in Hard Creek in exchange for contributing all related assets for the Turnagain project, its core asset. It will also be the project administrator.

About 50kg of nickel goes into each Tesla battery but the world isn’t producing enough to keep up with demand – by Rachel Pupazzoni (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – August 15, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://www.abc.net.au/

Mining companies in Australia are racing to find the next big reserve of one of the world’s most in-demand metals. Nickel is a critical metal in batteries, and as the world keeps moving toward renewables, more batteries are needed to store energy.

In fact, there’s a strong case that much more of it is needed than lithium — a commodity many people know of, because it is in the name of lithium batteries. But there are a variety of batteries made with different metal compositions and, as Elon Musk puts it, batteries need a sprinkle of lithium compared to nickel.

Canada eyes cash for critical minerals in Biden’s big new climate bill – by Alexander Panetta (CBC News World – August 16, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/

Canada is keen on accessing a pot of money for critical minerals in soon-to-be-signed U.S. law

A historic climate bill just passed by the U.S. Congress could have implications in entrenching Canada’s role in the shift toward clean transportation. The legislation that passed last week established preferential tax treatment for electric vehicles assembled anywhere in North America.

That made-in-North-America approach generated some news headlines by bringing an amicable resolution to a months-long Canada-U.S. irritant. Less noticed in the bill was a pot of money containing hundreds of millions of dollars to jump-start a new domestic industry in components for electric-vehicle batteries.

The Inflation Reduction Act delivers a mixed bag of successes and failures for EVs and the green economy – by Melissa Sanderson (Investor Intel.com – August 15, 2022)

August 16, 2022

https://investorintel.com/

Did anyone besides me hear happy hollering last week? Probably so – the Democrats in the U.S.A. unexpectedly delivered a piece of legislation which, in the current conflicted context, can reasonably be called a win for the so-called green economy.

Also known as Build Back Better’s Baby Brother in disguise, the bill does contain some important, and even some surprisingly positive provisions, such as: tax credits to encourage further deployment of wind and solar power, as well as development of geothermal (one of the surprises);

How one change to a U.S. EV tax credit likely saved Canada’s auto sector (Suto Recent.com – August 14, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://autorecent.com/

An about-face in U.S. coverage means electrical automobiles made in Canada will now qualify for hefty shopper tax credit when offered in america, a provision in a proposal that’s being lauded by auto business executives on this aspect of the border.

Underneath a earlier proposal, the tax credit would have utilized solely to automobiles assembled in america. The coverage change averts potential commerce disputes and clears a hurdle within the path of Canada’s EV business.

Miners face supply chain overhaul to meet U.S. EV credit deadline – by Clara Denina (Reuters – August 11, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

Aug 11 (Reuters) – Miners will struggle to expand operations in the United States in record time to meet a deadline for sourcing key minerals domestically or from select countries as set out by a bill likely to be passed on Friday, companies and industry watchers said.

The requirement is part of a sweeping bill that includes climate and clean energy policies and rules on electric vehicle (EV) battery materials such as cobalt, lithium, nickel and graphite. The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on the measure Friday.

Is sustainable mining possible? The EV revolution depends on it. – by Evan Halper (Washington Post – August 11, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

A proposal for a ‘sustainable mine’ in Minnesota has the backing of Tesla. But will it win over the community?

TAMARACK, Minn. — Electric cars are still rare in this marshy stretch of central Minnesota, where it is more common to pass a flock of wild turkeys on the country roads than a Nissan Leaf.

But the region could have an outsize impact on America’s transition to zero-emission vehicles. Tamarack, sitting atop a treasure trove of metal used to power electric cars, is fast becoming a test case of whether the auto industry can meet this critical climate moment by sourcing colossal amounts of battery materials domestically and sustainably.

The cost of green energy: The nation’s biggest lithium mine may be going up on a site sacred to Native Americans – by Chloe Atkins and Christine Romo (NBC News – August 11, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://www.nbcnews.com/

The huge project on public land, approved by the Trump administration in its final days, has sparked an outcry and a lawsuit, but opposition among Native Americans is not unanimous.

Thacker Pass, a remote valley in the high desert of northern Nevada, will always be sacred for Gary McKinney of the Paiute-Shoshone Tribe. He often visits to honor ancestors said to be killed here by U.S. soldiers in 1865. “It’s been a gathering place for our people,” said McKinney, who lives on the Duck Valley Reservation, 100 miles to the east.

McKinney and others are now fighting a new battle over an open-pit mine planned for Thacker Pass, which sits atop a massive lode of lithium. Driven by soaring demand for lithium, which is vital to electric car batteries and renewable energy, a company called Lithium Americas hopes to break ground this year on the biggest lithium mine in the U.S.

Small presence of mining majors poses risks to execution of planned lithium projects — report – by Staff (Mining.com – August 10, 2022)

August 11, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

In its latest industry report, market analyst Fitch Solutions draws from its expanded Global Lithium Operations Database to analyze the competitive landscape of the lithium upstream supply, lithium mining investment trends and uncover the global project pipeline.

The database includes 129 operations, both active and new projects. The study of the location of the lithium operations shows the clear current domination of the lithium upstream market by Latin America, specifically Chile and Argentina and Asia Pacific, specifically Australia and China.