Stephanie Dubois, CBC News
February 25, 2021
Canada could be part of battery supply chain, innovation happening around EVs.
This week’s meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden was a signal of momentum for electric vehicles that those in Canada’s industry have been waiting for.
In the roadmap released following the meeting, both leaders promised to work together to build supply chains for electric vehicle (EV) battery development so Canada and the U.S. could compete globally.
Capitalizing on Canada’s access to the minerals and metals needed to make electric vehicle batteries is something experts in the renewable energy industry have long said needs to happen.
Now is the time for Canadian companies, researchers and governments to seize on the U.S. and Canada agreement and become leaders in specific areas including battery development, said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association.
“The highest added-value component in electric vehicles is the battery, the chemistry of the battery,” he said.
“Canada has its own in-the-ground opportunity to be a superpower in the battery space, which will drive where some of those investments are. The risk of Canada falling behind is a Canadian risk.”
The beefing up of the two countries’ battery supply chains is one of the ways experts and researchers say Canada can benefit from the push for electric vehicles.
Industry experts say developing Canadian research talent and increasing the investment and production of electric buses are other ways Canada can distinguish itself from other countries already competing in the electric vehicle market.
Read the full article here.
