Batteries could add $48 billion to the Canadian economy each year. Subscribe to Electric Vehicle News Bitesize Podcast for FREE!
Canada’s electric vehicle battery supply chain could add $48.2 billion a year to the country’s economy and create up to 250,000 jobs by 2030, according to a new report that calls on the government to develop a comprehensive approach to everything from resource exploration to battery recycling strategies.
Clean Energy Canada and the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing pointed to a “booming” battery market, citing the International Energy Agency’s call for electric vehicles to account for 35% of the global auto market by 2030, up from 9% in 2021.
“A Canadian Electric Vehicle battery supply chain isn’t just a nice-sounding idea. It’s a very real, very large economic opportunity with potential winners across Canada and across industries,” the report says.
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Canada ranks fifth in the world in terms of battery supply potential, behind China, the United States, Germany and Sweden.
This $48.2 billion annual GDP contribution is the report’s most ambitious scenario. It requires nearly all of Canada’s vehicle assembly capacity to be dedicated to electric vehicles. New mines, new investments in battery materials, cathode production and recycling are required.
Canada also needs to attract another large and two small battery factories. The country landed its first battery Gigafactory in March, when automaker Stellantis and South Korean battery giant LG Energy Solutions announced plans to invest $5 billion to open a new electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in Windsor, Ontario.
Additionally, by 2030, light-duty truck sales would need to meet the 90 percent zero-emission target, compared with the 50 percent target in the United States. Also, medium and heavy truck sales in Canada and the United States should be 35% and 23%, respectively.
“While that might sound like a tall order, it’s not an unrealistic one,” the report’s authors wrote. “The choices Canada makes over the next seven years will determine which outcome we achieve.”
In July, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was taking a “big bet” on becoming a major player in the global electric vehicle supply chain. It follows news that Belgian metals refiner Umicore will build a $1.5 billion facility near Kingston, Ontario.
Canada scored a major victory two weeks later when United States lawmakers allowed Canadian-made electric vehicles to qualify for the consumer tax credit. The original bill, a key part of United States. President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, previously restricted credit lines to vehicles made by United States unionized automakers.
The report recommends that Canada redouble its efforts in “some key stages” of the battery supply chain in the near future, such as the assembly of electric vehicles, the manufacture of cells and the production of clean battery materials.
Canada’s 2022 federal budget includes $3.8 billion to advance the government’s critical minerals strategy. Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador have all implemented critical minerals strategies that prioritize minerals for use in electric vehicle batteries.
Unless the government takes additional action, the report concludes that by 2030, Canada’s battery supply chain will create 60,000 jobs and contribute $12 billion to the country’s GDP annually.
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