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Materials","us-government-progresses-north-american-cobalt-supply-chain-with-20-million-award-to-canadas-electra-battery-materials","article/us-government-progresses-north-american-cobalt-supply-chain-with-20-million-award-to-canadas-electra-battery-materials",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":559,"content":569,"excerpt":716,"featured":51,"reporter":717,"_editable":721,"component":722,"seo_title":543,"categories":723,"visibility":732,"author_company":49,"featured_image":733,"seo_description":716,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":737,"formattedArticleDate":738},"392d8980-52cd-4087-bf11-4d893c03aa25","2024-08-23 00:00",[550,553,556],{"slug":551,"name":552},"canada","Canada",{"slug":554,"name":555},"electra-battery-materials","Electra Battery Materials",{"slug":557,"name":558},"usa","USA",[560],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":563},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":564,"image":565,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":566},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":570,"content":571},"doc",[572,579,584,589,594,601,606,621,632,641,646,651,672,693,698,711],{"type":573,"attrs":574,"content":575},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[576],{"text":577,"type":578},"Canada’s Electra Battery Materials (Electra) has secured a $20 million award from the US Department of Defense, advancing efforts towards onshoring of the cobalt supply chain in North America.","text",{"type":573,"attrs":580,"content":581},{"textAlign":49},[582],{"text":583,"type":578},"“This is the first bricks and mortar investment into Canada in many years by the US Department of Defense, and marks their first significant investment in Canada’s battery supply chain,” Trent Mell, Electra’s CEO, told Benchmark Source.",{"type":573,"attrs":585,"content":586},{"textAlign":49},[587],{"text":588,"type":578},"The funds will be used to support the construction at Electra’s battery-grade cobalt sulphate refinery in Ontario, Canada, set to be the first of its kind in North America. ",{"type":573,"attrs":590,"content":591},{"textAlign":49},[592],{"text":593,"type":578},"“We expect the remaining US$40 million capex requirement to complete the refinery will be addressed through the continuing pursuit of government programs and private sector strategic investments,” Mell added.",{"type":595,"attrs":596,"content":598},"heading",{"level":597,"textAlign":49},4,[599],{"text":600,"type":578},"Electra’s Ontario refinery:",{"type":595,"attrs":602,"content":603},{"level":597,"textAlign":49},[604],{"text":605,"type":578},"US ramps up federal funding for cobalt projects",{"type":573,"attrs":607,"content":608},{"textAlign":49},[609,611,619],{"text":610,"type":578},"The US is highly vulnerable to China’s control over the cobalt supply chain. China currently comprises over 90% of global battery-grade cobalt sulphate production, according to the ",{"text":612,"type":578,"marks":613},"Benchmark Cobalt Forecast",[614],{"type":615,"attrs":616},"link",{"href":617,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":618},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/data-reports/forecast/","url",{"text":620,"type":578},", with refined cobalt supply emanating from US and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) regions set to meet just 27% of US demand by 2030.",{"type":573,"attrs":622,"content":623},{"textAlign":49},[624,630],{"text":625,"type":578,"marks":626},"China’s grip extends across the battery value",[627],{"type":615,"attrs":628},{"href":629,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":618},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-much-of-the-global-battery-supply-chain-is-owned-by-chinese-companies",{"text":631,"type":578}," chain, with 61% of cobalt mining involving at least one Chinese company, but is most concentrated at the midstream of the value chain: China will account for the vast majority of battery chemical and battery material production in 2024.",{"type":573,"attrs":633,"content":634},{"textAlign":49},[635],{"type":636,"attrs":637},"image",{"id":49,"alt":638,"src":639,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":640},"","https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeRLbQPRSWuuuMHDjS3ndm99OHrHCntz7ZenzdXFgkko0nSvsUjZDlwOvVnjs5RvJgGLe-tGy7vtVhpGS4zXIT946yvajT-pjMyrorWdlmvaflU3B5B7uYEAxDFxSguLAsfwOfelSUje3OZ5j-5aP1_7dA?key=7jcq2VHCkfOVA-281yS7Gg",{},{"type":573,"attrs":642,"content":643},{"textAlign":49},[644],{"text":645,"type":578},"Beijing has moved to impose export limits on a number of strategic minerals in the name of national security since last year, the most recent restrictions on antimony were announced in August.",{"type":573,"attrs":647,"content":648},{"textAlign":49},[649],{"text":650,"type":578},"To address its supply chain vulnerabilities, the US government has been ramping up funding for critical mineral mining and processing projects since the passage of the IRA in 2022.",{"type":573,"attrs":652,"content":653},{"textAlign":49},[654,656,662,664,670],{"text":655,"type":578},"The ",{"text":657,"type":578,"marks":658},"Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO)",[659],{"type":615,"attrs":660},{"href":661,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":618},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/exclusive-interview-with-does-jigar-shah",{"text":663,"type":578},", in particular, has disbursed billions of dollars in low-interest loans to expedite projects such as ",{"text":665,"type":578,"marks":666},"Redwood Materials",[667],{"type":615,"attrs":668},{"href":669,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":618},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/2-billion-redwood-doe-loan-advances-us-cathode-production",{"text":671,"type":578}," and Li-Cycle, both of which will recover battery-grade cobalt from black mass in the US.",{"type":573,"attrs":673,"content":674},{"textAlign":49},[675,677,683,685,691],{"text":676,"type":578},"Similarly, the US Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) has facilitated funding for a US-focused cobalt supply chain, provisionally agreeing debt financing packages with ",{"text":678,"type":578,"marks":679},"US Strategic Metals",[680],{"type":615,"attrs":681},{"href":682,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":618},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-exim-bank-backs-domestic-cobalt-production-with-us-strategic-metals-loan",{"text":684,"type":578}," and ",{"text":686,"type":578,"marks":687},"Chilean Cobalt Corp",[688],{"type":615,"attrs":689},{"href":690,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":618},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-exim-bank-boosts-chiles-cobalt-ambitions-in-effort-to-build-ex-china-supply-chain",{"text":692,"type":578}," in 2024.",{"type":573,"attrs":694,"content":695},{"textAlign":49},[696],{"text":697,"type":578},"In early 2022, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III, to strengthen supply chains critical to national security; allocating $250 million of funding to assist in getting projects in the US and Canada off the ground. Several cobalt projects have since received DoD DPA grants, including:",{"type":573,"attrs":699,"content":700},{"textAlign":49},[701,703,709],{"text":702,"type":578},"Electra, however, is the most advanced-stage cobalt project to have been awarded a grant under the DPA Title III, with ",{"text":704,"type":578,"marks":705},"Benchmark projecting",[706],{"type":615,"attrs":707},{"href":708,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":618},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/portal/",{"text":710,"type":578}," first production from the refinery to be achieved by 2025.",{"type":573,"attrs":712,"content":713},{"textAlign":49},[714],{"text":715,"type":578},"“We want this to be the blueprint for future successful investments,” Mell added. ","Canada’s Electra Battery Materials (Electra) has secured a $20 million award from the US Department of Defense, advancing efforts towards onshoring of the cobalt supply chain in North America. “This is the first bricks and mortar investment into Canada in many years by the US Department of Defense, and marks their first significant investment in […]",[718],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":719},{"job_title":564,"image":720,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},{"filename":566},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"392d8980-52cd-4087-bf11-4d893c03aa25\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[724,726,729],{"slug":725,"name":115},"cobalt",{"slug":727,"name":728},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":730,"name":731},"geopolitics","Geopolitics","private",{"id":49,"alt":638,"name":638,"focus":638,"title":638,"source":638,"filename":734,"copyright":638,"fieldtype":735,"meta_data":736,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b62cc81078/bm-us-dod.jpg","asset",{"alt":638,"title":638,"source":638,"copyright":638},"Aug 23, 2024","23rd August 2024",[],[],1781280263222]