September 4, 2024 Kingston, Ontario Natural Resources Canada
From mining critical minerals to manufacturing cars and batteries, to charging and end-of-life recycling, the electric vehicle supply chain presents an enormous economic opportunity for Canadian workers and businesses. As the demand for critical minerals to power the clean economy is expected to double by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency, Canada is supporting strong domestic value chains for critical minerals and the clean technologies and energy sources they enable.
Today, Mark Gerretsen, Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced almost $8.4 million in investments to Cyclic Materials Incorporated (Cyclic Materials) and Green Graphite Technologies Inc. (GGT) under the Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program. This funding will support the development of a circular economy for rare earth elements for permanent magnets and the recycling of graphite for use in lithium-ion batteries here in Canada.
Cyclic Materials will operate a demonstration plant that produces high purity mixed rare earth oxide and a cobalt-nickel mixed hydroxide product from various recycled materials using its proprietary physical and hydrometallurgical processes. Rare earth elements are metals used in various applications, but the highest value application is permanent magnets, which are used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines and many electronics, such as computers and cell phones. This project will validate operating conditions to support future scale and commercial operations. The project will promote a circular economy in Canada through the creation of a robust recycling process, address knowledge gaps in scaling and testing technology, and decrease the dependence on imported critical minerals. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is providing $4.9 million to Cyclic Materials for this initiative.
GGT will demonstrate their GraphRenewTM technology's ability to cost-effectively and sustainably recover and transform graphite from secondary sources into lithium-ion battery-grade graphite. The upgraded graphite will undergo battery cell performance testing, and larger quantities will be sent to major battery cell manufacturers to begin certification testing. Lithium-ion batteries main target use is EVs, but they are also used in solar panels and electronics, like cell phones and laptops. The project could address a significant knowledge gap in the lithium-ion battery industry while focusing on recycling batteries and upgrading spent graphite, enabling commercialization and improving circularity in the graphite value chain domestically. NRCan is providing $3.5 million to GGT for this initiative.
All across the country, Canadian workers and businesses are moving quickly to seize the economic opportunity that critical minerals, and the entire electric vehicle supply chain, present - now and into the future. Investments like today's will create good jobs and build a strong economy in Kingston, Ontario and beyond.
