Dual-listed Electra Battery Materials Corporation (TSX-V:ELBM) has been armed with US$20 million by the US Department of Defense to expand domestic production capability from its cobalt sulfate refinery located north of Toronto.
Electra, which is listed on the Nasdaq with the ticker code NASDAQ:ELBM, says the funds awarded was made pursuant to Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA) and is funded through the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act.
The company is a processor of low-carbon, ethically sourced battery materials focused executing a multipronged strategy to onshore the electric vehicle supply chain.
As part of this strategy, the US$20 million in funds will support the construction and commissioning of North America’s only cobalt sulfate refinery, capable of producing battery grade materials for lithium-ion batteries.
Today, more than 80% of battery grade cobalt is produced in China.
Keys to its strategy are integrating black mass recycling and nickel refining with Electra’s cobalt refinery located north of Toronto, advancing Iron Creek – its cobalt-copper exploration-stage project in the Idaho Cobalt Belt – and expanding cobalt sulfate processing into Bécancour, Québec.
Electra CEO Trent Mell says the company is committed to strengthening the resiliency of the North American battery supply chain.
“We are grateful to the US Department of Defense for its support. On issues of national security, there are no borders between Canada and the United States,” Mell adds.
“We are proud to partner with the US Government to build a strong North American supply chain for critical minerals.”
The $250 million refinery project is located north of Toronto, in Temiskaming Shores, and is projected to have the lowest carbon footprint in the world.
The company is expanding an existing plant, with permits in hand, construction well underway, and most long lead custom equipment at site. Once fully commissioned, the facility can produce 6,500 tonnes of cobalt per year, which would support the production of over 1 million EVs annually.
LG Energy Solution will purchase up to 80% of capacity over the first five years and several buyers are now competing for the remaining production. The cobalt feed material will be ethically-sourced from Glencore and Eurasian Resources Group mines in the DRC – material that would otherwise be shipped to China.
In addition to cobalt refining, Electra plans to produce other battery materials that will strengthen the resiliency of the North American supply chain.
In 2023, the company operated a plant-scale black mass demonstration plant at its refinery complex, recovering lithium, nickel, cobalt and other critical minerals from batteries. The company is also contemplating a second cobalt sulfate facility in Bécancour, Quebec and a strategically located North American nickel sulfate plant.
Title III of the DPA is committed to ensuring resilient, robust domestic supply chains in order to reduce reliance on foreign manufacturing and correct domestic shortfalls in the defense industrial base.
To qualify for funding opportunities under DPA Title III, proposed projects must meet criteria including the industrial resource, material, or critical technology item is essential to the national defense; purchases, purchase commitments, or other action are the most cost effective, expedient, and practical alternative method for meeting the need.
Canada is one of the United States’ closest allies that is eligible for DPA Title III funding, indicating the strong need to secure the global industrial base.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Electra Battery Materials
