Electra Battery Materials, a NASDAQ-listed company, has entered into preliminary discussions with the Quebec government to build a new cobalt refinery in Bécancour, as part of the strategy to establish a battery industry for electric vehicles in Quebec.
Posted at 5:01 p.m.
Electra announced the news via press release. The company aims to repatriate electric vehicle supply chains in North America.
Along with nickel and lithium, cobalt is one of the essential elements of the cathode of electric vehicle batteries. It can represents a quarter of the cost of the battery.
“Given the projected shortfall in domestic cobalt sulphate production by 2025, industry and government stakeholders have told us of their strong interest in building a second refinery in North America,” said said Trent Mell, CEO of Electra Battery Materials, in the release. The Bécancour industrial park in Quebec is quickly becoming an important hub for the materials needed to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles in North America.
The American company will undertake a study to determine the annual production needs in Bécancour. She plans to complete it by the end of 2022.
Electra is working on the commissioning of a first cobalt sulphate refinery north of Toronto.
with Julien Arsenault, The Press