The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - September 25, 2023
Japan and Canada enter into a milestone agreement to strengthen lithium battery supply chains and lessen the dependency on China for the materials going into these batteries powering the transition to low-carbon energy.
Panasonic Energy CEO Kazuo Tadanobu and Nouveau Monde CEO Eric Desaulniers sign agreement to renew and strengthen their collaboration at a Japan-Canada event in Ottawa.
In a move that aligns Canada's rich minerals endowment with Japan's battery-making expertise, the two countries have entered into a historic battery supply chain agreement.
"Canada and Japan are committed to advancing our shared ambitions to develop sustainable and reliable global battery supply chains," said Canada Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry François-Philippe Champagne.
This landmark battery supply chain memorandum of cooperation, a first-ever for Japan, is not just a signal of potential future cooperation. In the few days since the Sept. 21 signing of the battery pact, at least four Japanese corporations have entered into alliances with Canadian companies that offer sustainable solutions for materials needed to manufacture the batteries going into electric vehicles and storing renewable energy.
Japanese lithium-ion battery maker Panasonic Energy kicked off this flurry of activity by reinforcing its commitment to acquire lithium battery anode material from Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc., a Canadian company focused on mining and processing graphite in Quebec.
"Today, the Japanese and Canadian governments signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to deepen their bilateral partnership. I welcome the leadership demonstrated by the two governments to establish a sustainable and reliable battery supply chain," said Panasonic Energy President and CEO Kazuo Tadanobu. "Panasonic Energy will help strengthen bilateral cooperation in the private sector, including through the partnership with NMG, to contribute to the industrial development of the two countries."
In the following days, Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC); Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, a joint venture between Toyota Motor Company and Panasonic Corp.; and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. have entered into partnerships with Canadian companies for lithium battery materials.
Reliability and sustainability are two top criteria Japanese companies are looking for in Canadian battery materials projects. This was the primary reason Panasonic Energy is diligently advancing technological and commercial discussions toward establishing a definitive offtake agreement with Nouveau Monde, a junior mining company scaling up an ore-to-anode materials supply chain in Quebec.
This sustainable source of the single largest ingredient in lithium-ion batteries begins at Matawinie, a mine project about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Montreal that is slated to produce more than 100,000 metric tons of high-purity flake graphite concentrate per year.
These concentrates will be trucked roughly 95 miles (150 kilometers) to the company's advanced material plant at Becancour, a region along the St. Lawrence River that has become known as "Lithium Valley" due to the numerous battery processing facilities being built there. Here, the concentrates will be refined and upgraded to 42,616 metric tons of coated spherical anode material for lithium batteries and 3,007 metric tons of large flake graphite for other industrial purposes.
As a company focused on applying the highest ESG standards to producing an ingredient vital to the energy transition, Nouveau Monde has taken enormous strides in shrinking the carbon footprint of its Quebec operations.
This includes using Quebec's abundant clean hydropower to power the mining equipment doing the digging and hauling at Matawinie, as well as upgrading the graphite into the advanced anode material Panasonic Energy and others are looking for.
Seeking to reduce its own carbon footprint by 2031, Panasonic Energy is testing NMG anode material in a battery prototype production line and is working with the Canadian company to optimize the graphite anode material to Panasonic Energy specifications ahead of a definitive offtake agreement.
"Engagement over the past months has been intensive, we are delighted to now see our active anode material being tested in the Panasonic Energy's prototype line in Japan in advance with mass production line in North America," said Nouveau Monde Graphite Chair Arne Frandsen. "With Panasonic Energy as a technical partner, NMG is benefiting from a depth of battery expertise to further elevate technology as the company gears up to enter its Phase-2 commercial development."
The potential for low-carbon battery materials is also what attracted JOGMEC and Prime Planet Energy & Solutions to enter into a preliminary agreement with FPX Nickel Corp. to explore collaborative opportunities for the vertical integration of nickel production from the Baptiste project in the western Canadian province of British Columbia.
A road-accessible project about three miles (five kilometers) from rail and about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Fort St. James, BC, Baptiste hosts 8.44 billion pounds of nickel and 142 million lb of cobalt in 1.82 billion metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.21% nickel and 0.004% cobalt.
This deposit boasts a couple of advantages when it comes to providing a clean source of nickel and cobalt.
One of the big advantages Baptiste offers is sulfur was not present when the nickel-cobalt minerals were deposited. In the absence of sulfur, a natural nickel-iron alloy known as awaruite was formed. This makes the nickel easier to recover and offers the potential for a high-quality concentrate that does not require smelting or high-pressure acid leaching. This means the nickel can be produced with less energy and a smaller carbon footprint than if the battery metal was produced from sulfide or laterite ores.
Adding to the environmental advantages is the ultramafic rock that hosts the Baptiste deposit is rich in brucite, a magnesium mineral that is good at absorbing carbon dioxide and transforming it into a solid magnesium carbonate that is stable on a geological time scale.
This means that the tailings produced from mining the nickel has the potential to at least offset the CO2 emitted during mining, which would make the nickel a net-zero carbon product that would be particularly attractive to automakers that want to tout the climate benefits of their expanding lineup of electrified vehicles.
The accessibility and ESG advantages of Baptiste are among the reasons JOGMEC and Prime Planet Energy & Solutions have entered into a memorandum of understanding that offers a framework for the production of low-carbon nickel sulfate and lithium battery cathode material from Baptiste.
"By combining FPX's low-carbon nickel mining process and PPES' battery knowhow and technology, we are sure to realize further decarbonization and cost reductions in this field," said Prime Planet Energy & Solutions President and CEO Hiroaki Koda. "As with the Japan-Canada partnership agreement, we aim to spread the use of electric vehicles in light of decarbonized society as 'One Team.'"
It is anticipated that any future binding agreements to further solidify this "One Team" strategy would provide FPX with additional funding to advance toward the development of a mine at Baptiste, including the preparation of a feasibility study and activities relating to the environmental assessment and permitting processes.
"This MOU demonstrates the strategic nature of the Baptiste Project and its potential to produce an ideal nickel feedstock for the battery supply chain," said FPX Nickel President and CEO Martin Turenne. "We look forward to collaboration with our Japanese partners to support the development of North America's critical minerals ecosystem, and to develop Baptiste in a manner that creates substantial and sustainable benefits for local communities while protecting the environment for future generations."
Beyond the rich mineral endowment Canada is known for, Japanese companies are interested in innovative Canadian companies that are further along the lithium battery supply chain.
This includes Sumitomo Metal Mining's partnership with Nano One Materials Corp., a technology company that has developed and patented processes for the sustainable production of lithium-ion battery cathode materials.
On Sept. 25, Nano One announced that Sumitomo Metals Mining is investing C$16.9 million (US$12.5 million) to accelerate the commercial production of cathode materials for both lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) and nickel-rich lithium batteries, such as nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC).
"This announcement builds on years of technology development and CAM production by both Sumitomo Metal Mining and Nano One Materials, and it expresses our joint ambitions to develop and lead world class battery ecosystems and long-term partnerships in the production of LFP and NMC cathode materials," said Nano One Materials CEO Dan Blondal. "Sumitomo Metal Mining is a world class leader, having pioneered nickel-rich cathode active materials for long range electric vehicle battery applications."
Nano One's patented One Pot process offers a simpler and more sustainable method of producing the cathode active materials for EV batteries.
"Nano One has proven LFP production experience and has demonstrated that their latest technology works at scale, their materials perform, and their costs are competitive. Nano One is also aligned with our belief that less waste and energy intensive CAM production technology is one of the most important keys to contribute to developing EV markets," said Katsuya Tanaka, managing executive officer and general manager of the battery material division at Sumitomo Metal Mining. "This is particularly important in Japan, North America, and other emerging markets where the race to meet net-zero goals and establish battery supply chains is just beginning."
In addition to supporting the scale-up and commercial production of LFP and NMC cathode production using the One-Pot process, Nano One and Sumitomo Metal Mining will explore business development opportunities, including future sales and technology licensing, forging long-term partnerships, and identifying potential investment and financing opportunities to expand operations.
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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