Matthew Solomon AVP, Retail Sales
Ori Abramson AVP, Retail Sales
Green energy is more than utilizing renewable and sustainable resources, and the overall journey towards net zero. It integrates components of many natural resources and aspects of various supply chains into our daily lives—including where we use batteries, how we recycle, and even on higher level — impacting how we transport our ourselves. With governments boosting polices to promote electric vehicle (EV) deployment we are starting to see initiatives as they gear up to meet these needs, including building charging infrastructure and securing supply chains. By 2025 an estimated $30-45 billion will need to be invested to help increase mining capacity and the demand for EVs alone. A major component in the EV supply chain includes a suitable power source. China is currently operating more than half of the world’s large-scale EV battery factories, and governments around the world are now realizing the importance of investing in mining capacity and manufactures on home soil, especially since countries like Canada, the U.S., and Europe have all made ambitious goals and legislations to become climate neutral. Lithium-ion batteries are a main component to fueling this shift. Lithium makes up approximately seven per cent of the batteries. However, platinum, palladium, cobalt, manganese, and especially graphite also plays an integral role in the power source. Graphite, for instance, which many may know as their reliable 2B pencil — has a very important role in the green economy and green energy adoption. It too can be found in fuel cells, grid storage, and many other zero-carbon integral technologies. The commodity’s demand from lithium-ion batteries alone is expected to increase more than 10x in less than a decade. With this substantial increase in future demand, the supply chain faces a potential challenge of not being able to keep up with the demand, unless there is a simultaneous investment in new mines with a focus on domestic supply. According to a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence report 300 new mines may need to be built over the next decade to meet the demand for electric vehicles and energy storage batteries. Looking at the current 2022 supply versus the projected 2035 demand, natural graphite needs almost six times its current supply to meet its forecasted demand. This equates to 97 new natural graphite mines compared to 74 new mines that lithium needs to meet demand. The EVs unique €750 billion stimulus package includes €20 billion to boost the sales of clean vehicles, and 1 million electric and hydrogen vehicle charging stations are to be installed by 2025. Though the transition to EVs seems inevitable, there are still a few challenges that will need to be overcome. Battery costs, power density, charging infrastructure, and legal requirements will all drive investments and decisions made moving forward. While these barriers to EV adoption hinder the overall pace of electrification, many companies are working on ways to help overcome these challenges while trying to pave the way for a greener environment.
