Canada's battery supply credibility jumps as multi-billion announcements keep coming
Federal Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is selling Canada's battery-supply chain prowess in Asia again this week, but this time he has a new boast in his back pocket.
Research firm BloombergNEF pushed Canada's position in its annual global ranking of battery-producing countries ahead of everyone else but China.
"That's something I'm going to use very much on my trip in Asia, to say we have what Asia needs," Champagne said.
The survey ranks 30 countries with a significant presence in the industry, be it in the mining of raw materials to the production of batteries and their component parts.
The first version in 2020 ranked Canada fourth, and in 2021 fifth, after mining outputs fell and regulatory hurdles mounted.
But Canada has announced more than $15 billion in investments over the past 10 months in areas ranging from critical mineral mining and processing to battery component manufacturing, electric vehicle production and the country's first gigafactory.
That helped Canada climb past Sweden, Germany and the United States, even with the latter's massive investments under the Inflation Reduction Act.
"I think this is a home run for Canada in the sense that the vision was really to build an ecosystem from mine to recycling, and now it's taking shape and what we're doing now is to optimize it," Champagne said.
His trips this week to Japan and South Korea, along with next week's planned stops in Germany, are in that vein. He has already met with key industry players in those countries multiple times both in Canada and abroad, but he says he's focused on consolidating those relationships and continuing to make Canada's case as a presence in the field.
The battery-supply chain has many links, starting with mining of the raw materials like lithium, nickel, aluminum and copper used to make batteries. Those minerals and metals are then refined so they can be used to make the components of battery cells -- namely cathodes, anodes and electrolytes.
The components are then pulled together to make battery cells -- which resemble the same alkaline non-rechargeable batteries most consumers are familiar with -- and then gigafactories package those cells together in large numbers to make battery packs that run everything from laptops and cellphones to electric cars.
The BloombergNEF report looks at all of those supply chain parts, as well as demand for the end product and environmental stewardship.
Canada gets among the highest marks on keeping the supply chain green, thanks in part to a generous supply of renewable energy but also to environmental regulations on mining. The BloombergNEF survey also credited Canada for its efforts to boost mining activity.
Canada is still lagging on battery cell and component manufacturing and domestic demand for electric vehicles, but there have been many announcements in the last year improving both.
Vic Fedeli, Ontario's minister of economic development, told The Canadian Press following a trip to meet with industry stakeholders in Germany last month that one of Canada's biggest selling points is its access to the raw materials needed to make batteries.
"They talk about our critical minerals and that's when we know we've got their genuine interest because there's such a finite amount of active critical mineral producers outside of China," he said. "We really have a captive audience."
While Canada is not the biggest producer of any of the main metals and minerals needed for batteries, it is one of the few places in the world capable of producing all of them.
Canada and its allies are also trying to prevent China from using its dominance in the battery supply chain industry to throw its weight around in global politics. They have likened it to Europe being too reliant on Russia for gas.
Having started investing in the sphere more than a decade ago, China is now home to three-quarters of all battery cell manufacturing capacity and 90 per cent of anode and electrolyte production.
Its raw mineral production isn't always the highest, but it has invested heavily in mines in other countries, including in Canada, to bring those products to China for refining and use in manufacturing. The U.S. Geological Survey said China produced about four per cent of the world's nickel last year but refined more than two-thirds of it.
It mined about 14 per cent of the lithium produced in 2021 but refined 59 per cent.
Canada is starting to take steps to limit China's influence within the domestic supply chain. Earlier this month, Champagne said Canada will limit the involvement of foreign-owned state companies in the critical mineral sector, and a week later ordered three Chinese companies to sell their interests in small Canadian firms.
But there are many more, including the only currently operating lithium mine in Canada. The Tanco mine in Manitoba is owned by China-based Sinomine Resource Group.
Champagne wouldn't say what other orders will come, but did hint at additional announcements.
"I'll be like a hawk looking at these transactions to make sure that we protect the national and economic security of Canadians," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Conservatives call on Elon Musk to step in after Liberals provide loan to Ottawa-based satellite operator
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Sunken superyacht believed to contain watertight safes with sensitive intelligence data
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year Â鶹ӰÊÓ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
Heavy metal exposure could increase cardiovascular disease risk, study finds
A new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease.
Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.
Hezbollah targets base near Haifa after Israeli strike in Beirut killed 37, including top commander
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children.
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.