Government of Canada Invests Over $9 Million to Enable Made-in-Canada Lithium Battery Supply Chain in British Columbia

RICHMOND, BC, July 11, 2024 /CNW/ - From mining to manufacturing cars and batteries, to charging and end-of-life recycling, the electric vehicle supply chain presents enormous economic opportunity for Canada. Canada is supporting strong domestic value chains for critical minerals and the clean technologies and energy sources they enable. The mining sector alone directly and indirectly employs over 700,000 Canadians and contributes almost $160 billion to Canada's gross domestic product, providing notable economic benefits to Canadians across the country. Through strategic investments, the Government of Canada is building up every part of the supply chain at home, maximizing economic growth and job creation, and demonstrating why Canada is the most promising location for lithium-ion battery supply chains internationally. 

Yesterday, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced two investments totaling over $9 million to Saltworks Technologies Inc. (Saltworks) and NORAM Electrolysis Systems Inc. (NESI) to support the battery supply chain in British Columbia under the Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program. These investments will support Canada's ability to address a gap in midstream lithium processing through the advancement of Canadian technologies.

The $4,937,500 investment to Saltworks will be used to accelerate the concentration and conversion of Canadian lithium brine into lithium battery precursors using two novel technologies developed and tested by Saltworks. This project could accelerate access to lithium resources and reduce investment risk in Canada's brine-to-battery lithium industry. An additional investment of $4,500,000 to NESI will support industrial-scale demonstration of membrane electrolysis technology for lithium production at NESI's new test centre. The project will help commercialize sustainable lithium hydroxide production from a variety of lithium resources, enabling wide-scale industrial implementation of membrane electrolysis technology.

Canada is making significant investments in critical minerals — such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements — because they are essential to many modern technologies. The Government of Canada is committed to positioning Canada as a global leader and first-class producer of a wide variety of critical minerals and to the creation of secure value chains, from mines to manufacturing.

Quotes

"Across critical mineral value chains — from upstream exploration and extraction to downstream processing, manufacturing and recycling — the electric vehicle supply chain holds incredible economic opportunity for Canada and Canadians. New clean technologies will help address gaps in our world-leading supply chain; seize the economic opportunity presented to us; keep Canadian industry competitive in a rapidly evolving global context; and create jobs — now and for future generations." 

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

"Development of our nation's rich lithium resources is paramount to the prosperity of Canadians for generations to come but requires innovation to unlock Canada's vast and dilute brines. Saltworks is thankful to have been awarded NRCan CMRDD funding to continue developing distinguished and innovative technologies that support Canada's Critical Mineral Strategy."

Benjamin Sparrow
CEO, Saltworks Technologies Inc.

"Lithium hydroxide production by electrolysis has become a key technology for ensuring that the environmental impact associated with the production and recycling of critical minerals is minimized. NESI's project, supported by the CMRDD program, will result in the establishment of an industrial-scale Lithium Electrolysis Test Centre producing tonnage quantities of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from both domestic and international lithium resources. NRCan's support of midstream lithium processing technologies will ensure that Canada is able to fully participate in the global transition to electrification."

Jeremy Moulson
President and CEO of NORAM Electrolysis Systems Inc.

Quick Facts

• Budget 2022 provided $3.8 billion over eight years to implement the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy. The funding covers a range of industrial activities, from geoscience and exploration to mineral processing, manufacturing and recycling applications, including support for research, development and technological deployment.
• Canada's Critical Minerals Strategy is part of Canada's strengthened climate plan, 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy, which advances Canada's goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
• Critical Minerals have been identified as a key opportunity area under the British Columbia Regional Energy and Resource Table (RERT) and feature prominently in the British Columbia Regional Energy and Resource Table – Framework for Collaboration on the Path to Net-Zero. The RERTs are joint partnerships between the federal government and individual provincial and territorial governments in collaboration with Indigenous partners — and with input from key stakeholders — to identify and accelerate shared economic priorities for a low-carbon future in the energy and resource sectors.

Related Information

• Saltworks Technologies Inc.
• NORAM Electrolysis Systems Inc.
• Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration Program
• Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy
• Government of Canada Launches Second Call for Proposals for Critical Minerals Research Development and Demonstration Program 
• Government of Canada Announces $10 Million to Support Critical Minerals Mining in Northern Ontario
• Minister Wilkinson Releases Canada's $3.8-billion Critical Minerals Strategy to Seize Generational Opportunity for Clean, Inclusive Growth

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

Contacts: Natural Resources Canada, Media Relations, 343-292-6100, [email protected]; Joanna Sivasankaran, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Canada, [email protected]