Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 85

The Battery Boom Will Redraw Geopolitical Maps – by Tsvetana Paraskova (Oil Price.com – May 03, 2022)

May 4, 2022

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed, once again, the vulnerability of the global energy markets and economy to the actions of petrostates with the power to weaponize their energy resources for political purposes. In the biggest shock to oil flows since the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the war in Ukraine and the hesitancy of Europe to immediately punish Putin threw into sharp relief the geopolitical power that countries with huge oil and gas resources currently hold.

The European Union’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is to wean off Russian energy as soon as possible and reduce overall fossil fuel consumption in the longer term in order to stop being beholden to malign actors for energy sources.

Industry stakeholders, experts applaud feds’ critical minerals spending, as geopolitics loom large in supply chains – by Mike Lapointe (Hill Times – May 3, 2022)

May 4, 2022

https://www.hilltimes.com/

Canada must ‘learn from other market-oriented liberal democracies,’ when it comes to the development of our critical mineral sector, says Conservative resources critic Greg McLean.

The federal government’s recent $3.8-billion budget proposal to develop Canada’s increasingly important critical minerals sector has been met with support from industry experts.

But David Billedeau, senior director of natural resources and environmental sustainability at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, says it’s still “the start of a very long journey—other countries are more advanced in this space than Canada, and we need to catch up.”

The Salton Sea could produce the world’s greenest lithium, if new extraction technologies work – by Katie Brigham (CNBC.com – May 4, 2022)

May 4, 2022

https://www.cnbc.com/

About 40 miles north of the California-Mexico border lies the shrinking, landlocked lake known as the Salton Sea. Once the epicenter of a thriving resort community, water contamination and decades of drought have contributed to a collapse of the lake’s once vibrant ecosystem, and given rise to ghost towns.

But amidst this environmental disaster, the California Energy Commission estimates that there’s enough lithium here to meet all of the United States’ projected future demand, and 40% of the entire world’s demand. That’s big news for the booming electric vehicle industry, as lithium is the common denominator across all types of EV batteries.

The lithium stocks best placed to capture price boom – by Alex Gluyas (Australian Financial Review – May 4, 2022)

May 4, 2022

https://www.afr.com/

Fund managers favour established lithium producers, rather than explorers, given they’re more likely to capture soaring prices.

The powerful rally in lithium stocks is not sustainable for all companies in the sector, strategists warn, meaning investors will need to become more selective if they want exposure to one of the hottest pockets of the local sharemarket.

The price of lithium, a key ingredient in batteries, has exploded in the past year as tight supply has been met with booming demand fuelled by the transition to electric vehicles.

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.