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Spotted:  The global electric vehicle market is expected to reach 31.1 million vehicles by 2030. This increase in demand is putting strain on the world’s lithium supply. Currently, a small number of countries, including Australia, Chile, and China, produce the bulk of the world’s lithium. And none of the big producers are in North America. This matters because transporting lithium from thousands of miles away can be costly and difficult for North American electric vehicle (EV) companies. 

In response, Snow Lake Lithium is developing an all-electric lithium mine in Manitoba, Canada. This will enable domestic supply of lithium to the North American EV industry. This is a significant innovation, as it will help to address the current shortage of battery supplies for electric vehicles in North America.

Goods from Snow Lake Lithium will be accessible to the North American automotive industry via the US Arctic Gateway railway –reducing transportation costs and emissions. To provide further integration of the supply chain, Snow Lake Lithium hopes to partner with a battery manufacturer to create a lithium processing plant in CentrePort Canada in Southern Manitoba.

The mine is about 55,000 acres in size and aims to produce 160 thousand tonnes of 6 per cent lithium spodumene yearly for the next 10 years. What’s more, the mine will be operated almost entirely with renewable, hydroelectric power. The next couple of months for Snow Lake will see further engineering evaluations and drilling programmes with commercial production expected for 2025.

Following this need for more sustainable battery production and mining, Springwise has spotted a two-step battery recycling process recovers 95 per cent of critical materials, such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, and a new generation of sodium-ion batteries.  

Written By: Katrina Lane