Gerardo Del Real,
Editor
Dec. 6, 2022
Quebec is not so slowly but very surely positioning itself as a major player in the clean energy revolution.
The province has seen a surge of political support coupled with a flurry of corporate giants rushing to establish a presence in the region.
Quebec boasts some of the most fertile ground for a suite of battery metals. And access to cheap hydroelectric power has only bolstered the case for Quebec to emerge as the next major player in the North American battery metals space.
Up until now China and Europe have been the dominant centers in electric vehicle sales and battery manufacturing plants.
That’s starting to change.
Recent geopolitical tensions have only strengthened political resolve to diversify away from Chinese controlled supply chains.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he plans on spending C$400 million of taxpayer money to build 50,000 electric vehicle charging stations. The Canada Infrastructure bank just announced the launch of a C$500 million zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) Charging and Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure Initiative (CHRI).
The goals of the initiative are to reduce transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions by accelerating the private sector’s rollout of large-scale ZEV chargers and hydrogen refueling stations, spur the market for private investment, and support economic opportunities.
According to the president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association, Canada will need 4 million charging stations by 2050, 80 times higher than the 50,000 currently targeted.
Whether you agree with the politics or the motivation behind it, the investment dollars are very real.
Vale (NYSE: VALE), the largest nickel miner in the world, has announced plans to build a nickel sulfate facility just outside of the city of Trois-Rivières — a place many are now referring to as “Quebec’s Battery Valley.”
Posco (NYSE: PKX), the South Korean steel maker, is building a $400 million factory to produce cathode material for EV batteries. GM has partnered with Posco on the cathode material factory. It also secured lithium supply from Livent, a partner in Nemaska Lithium, which is expected to supply the material for the GM deal.
This in addition to a recent agreement with mining giant Vale to secure a significant portion of GM’s nickel sulfate from the upcoming new factory.
Governments are committing capital, corporations are spending billions. Speculators that know where and how to allocate capital are going to make millions.
While everyone waits for the overall markets to stabilize and the Fed to pivot you could be positioning yourself to capture your share of the gains.
Gerardo Del Real
Editor, Daily Profit Cycle