The Department of Defense announced today a $20 million award via the Defense Production Act Investments (DPAI) office to Electra Battery Materials Corporation (Electra). The objective of the award is to complete an industrial scale hydrometallurgical plant and establish production of cobalt sulfate at the company's facility in Temiskaming Shores, Ontario, Canada.
The award utilizes funds from the Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022 and supports the 2024 National Defense Industrial Strategy goal of expanding domestic production of critical minerals. In June, the Government of Canada announced its own CAN $5 million (USD $3.6 million) award to Electra to advance the next phase of a battery materials recycling project started at the same refinery facility.
"This award will develop North American production of a key precursor material for large capacity batteries, helping to create a more robust industrial base capable of meeting growing demand across both the defense and commercial sectors," said Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (ASD(IBP)).
"From mining responsibly sourced critical minerals, to processing them here in North America, to building batteries for electric vehicles and other key technologies, and eventually to recycling them, there is enormous opportunity for both Canada and the United States from both an economic and a security perspective. Through our continued work with the United States, driven by the Energy Transformation Task Force and the Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals Collaboration, and other allies, we are developing secure critical minerals value chains that will create good jobs in places like Temiskaming, Ontario and beyond, and will power prosperous economies and a future that works for everyone," said the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Canada.
By helping to complete construction of the Ontario Cobalt Refinery, these Defense Production Act (DPA) funds will enable Electra to establish the first North American refinery for the production of cobalt sulfate, an active material in lithium-ion batteries. This will lead to a sustainable domestic processing facility capable of producing commercial-scale levels of a critical precursor material for large capacity batteries, which are used in many DoD systems. Upon successful completion, the Ontario Refinery project aims to benefit the growing North American electric vehicle (EV) supply chain.
This is the latest of 35 awards made by the DPAI program across multiple areas totaling $445 million since the beginning of fiscal year 2024. This is also the latest of three awards made to Canadian companies using DPA funds to execute projects based in Canada. DPAI is overseen by the ASD(IBP)'s Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) program, in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Resilience.