BEV In Depth is Greater Sudbury’s first municipal conference which aims to “explore the commercial viability of the battery electric vehicle (BEV) in Northern Ontario. The conference has attracted a guest-list of delegates and key stakeholders from government, the mining industry, the auto industry, and more, to discuss the future of EVs and the subsequent challenges, opportunities and required partnerships associated with the rapidly evolving sector.
The conference kicked off yesterday and comes to a close today, featuring a wide variety of speakers including Bora Plumper from Electric Mobility Canada, Suzanne Goldberg from ChargePoint, Don Duval from NORCAT, Viviane Lapointe, member of Parliament for Sudbury, and many more.
Understandably, the viability of EV production is a major topic of consideration, as nationwide demand for EVs reaches a fever pitch. Due to supply chain challenges brought on by the pandemic, many automakers are struggling to scale their EV development plans as critical materials are in short supply. Fortunately, speakers at BEV In Depth are optimistic about the future of BEV development in Canada, due in large part to the fact that premium-grade nickel, cobalt, copper and lithium are all produced in Northern Ontario.
“As the world shifts to low carbon transportation models, the future has never looked better for those who mined and processed the riches buried in Sudbury basin and other Greenstone belts in this region,” shares Toronto Danforth MP Julie Dabrusin, who is also the parliamentary secretary to the federal Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and to the federal Minister of Natural Resources. “So make no mistake, the energy transition will be very mineral intensive, bringing massive economic opportunities.”
Dabrusin went on to reference the International Energy Agency forecast, which predicts a demand for 43 million EVs by 2030, as compared to the 2 million units in demand in 2018. “Even the most conservative estimates predict a multi-trillion-dollar global market economy that Canada cannot afford to ignore,” she shared. “That’s why this government initiated the Mines to mobility initiative, Canada’s plan for a battery ecosystem to build up each segment of Canada’s battery supply chain from mining and processing raw materials to assembling road ready electric vehicles.”
