As the costs for key minerals in electric vehicle (EV) battery production continue to rise, carmakers are looking to secure supply by venturing into the mining world. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is reportedly looking at buying Brazilian lithium mining company Sigma Lithium (TSXV:SGML) (NASDAQ:SGML) to help with battery production and supply a major component to its yet-to-be-built lithium refinery near Corpus Christi, Texas. Sigma’s Grota do Cirilo property, the largest lithium hardrock deposit in the Americas, is still in the development phase, but has already achieved pilot-scale production and is moving to commercial exploration with the goal of producing 104,200 tonnes of LCE annually. Tesla isn’t the only carmaker moving into the market, Ford (NYSE:F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM) have both signed deals to secure battery metals. The two companies were also recipients of the Government of Canada’s Innovation, Science and Economic Development’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), alongside Alberta’s leading lithium developer and extraction technology innovator E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF). 

E3 Lithium has continued to reach important milestones in developing its 24.3 million tonnes of inferred lithium resources in Alberta. On March 2, the company outlined its 2023 goals and strategic vision to move towards producing battery-grade lithium from its significant Alberta-based resources. 

“With a clear strategy in place, this year E3 is set to deliver on the most significant milestones in the company’s history,” commented Chris Doornbos, President & CEO of E3 Lithium. “We are confident that successfully achieving these milestones will firmly establish E3 as a leader of sustainable, locally supplied battery-ready lithium products, and will position E3 for success, as it looks to move from development into commercialization following the success of our pilot.”

Last month, E3 Lithium revealed that its Lithium Ion-Exchange (Li-IX) pilot plant is on track to start operations in the third quarter of 2023. 

After making significant progress last year, E3 is in the process of completing the final engineering, design and construction plans for the pilot plant and expects to commission equipment on site this summer.

Li-IX technology will be put to the test at the pilot plant to see how it works for direct lithium extraction on a larger scale. Showing Li-IX technology at the pilot scale greatly reduces the risk of the commercial design.

“The pilot plant is a major milestone for the company, and we are extremely excited about the progress we’ve made towards constructing and operating it this year,” said Chris Doornbos, E3 Lithium President and CEO. “Demonstrating the Li-IX extraction technology in the field advances the company significantly towards delivering battery grade lithium to market; it’s the paradigm shift needed for E3 to move towards our lithium plant design and eventual production.”

E3 Lithium also announced it has received $4.9 million since Q3 2022 from the exercise of warrants from equity financings completed on December 17, 2020 and February 8, 2021. The remaining 3.4 million warrants outstanding belong to Imperial Oil, which were prepaid for a total of $6.35 million and expire in June 2024. E3 currently has 64.4 million issued and outstanding shares.

To learn more about E3 Lithium Ltd (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF), please visit this link.

Carmakers Are Investing for a Future Powered by EVs

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and California Governor Gavin Newsom visited Tesla‘s new engineering center in California, where Musk revealed that the facility will be the company’s new worldwide engineering headquarters. Tesla has purchased a former Hewlett-Packard building in Silicon Valley, mostly to strengthen its AI and R&D capabilities. The Governor now has unprecedented access to Tesla‘s rapidly expanding AI program. The unveiling of this new AI-focused office comes on the heels of the release of Tesla’s long-awaited v11.3 FSD software. 

On February 13, Ford (NYSE:F) announced it will invest $3.5 billion to create the country’s first automaker-backed LFP battery factory, providing customers with a second battery technology within Ford’s EV lineup. When production of LFP batteries begins in 2026, this factory, known as BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, will initially employ 2,500 people. Ford will be able to expand its battery capacity at its Marshall, Michigan, plant, which will be a completely owned Ford subsidiary. Ford and its battery tech partners have announced $17.6 billion in investments in electric car and battery production in the United States since 2019, as part of the company’s goal to invest more than $50 billion in electric vehicles globally through 2026. According to the methodology of a 2020 independent research, these investments will result in more than 18,000 direct jobs in Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Missouri over the following three years, as well as more than 100,000 indirect jobs.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Vale Canada Limited, a division of Vale S.A., have signed a term contract for the long-term supply of battery grade nickel sulfate from Vale’s projected factory in Bécancour, Québec, Canada. With the help of this agreement, GM will have access to nickel sulfate from a U.S. free-trade partner to meet its rapidly expanding EV production requirements in North America. For use in GM‘s Ultium battery cathodes, which will power a variety of electric vehicles, including the Chevrolet Silverado EV, Blazer EV, and Equinox EV, the Cadillac LYRIQ, the GMC Sierra EV, and the GMC HUMMER EV Pickup and SUV, Vale will provide battery grade nickel sulfate, which is equivalent to 25,000 metric tonnes of contained nickel annually. There is enough nickel inside to make about 350,000 electric vehicles each year. The goal is for deliveries to start in the second half of 2026.

On February 13, Sigma Lithium (TSXV:SGML) (NASDAQ:SGML) announced the production of continuous sequential batches of crushed lithium material and the completion of commissioning of its crushing circuit of the Greentech Plant, both on time and in accordance with previously provided guidance on December 20, 2022 and January 23, 2023. Sigma Lithium also announced the start of thorough engineering and capital expenditure costing for the Greentech Plant expansion (Phase 2 & 3) at FEL-3 precision by getting firm quotations from suppliers. The Greentech Plant expansion is planned to enhance run-rate output of Battery Grade Sustainable Lithium from 270,000 tpa to 766,000 tpa.

E3 Lithium has recently added four additional technical and functional positions to its team in order to assist the execution of the company’s expansion ambitions.

Featured Image @ Depositphotos

Disclosure:

1) The author of the Article, or members of the author’s immediate household or family, do not own any securities of the companies set forth in this Article. The author determined which companies would be included in this article based on research and understanding of the sector.

2) The Article was issued on behalf of and sponsored by, E3 Lithium Ltd. Market Jar Media Inc. has or expects to receive from E3 Lithium Ltd’s Digital Marketing Agency of Record (Native Ads Inc.) one hundred ninety thousand CAD for 33 days (24 business days).

3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not Market Jar Media Inc., its directors or officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Market Jar Media Inc. for this Article. Market Jar Media Inc. was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this Article. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Market Jar Media Inc. requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Market Jar Media Inc. relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Market Jar Media Inc. has no means of verifying its accuracy.

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6) This document contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, (collectively, “forward-looking statements”), which reflect management’s expectations regarding E3 Lithium Ltd.’s future growth, future business plans and opportunities, expected activities, and other statements about future events, results or performance. Wherever possible, words such as “predicts”, “projects”, “targets”, “plans”, “expects”, “does not expect”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “anticipate” or “does not anticipate”, “believe”, “intend” and similar expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative or grammatical variation thereof or other variations thereof, or comparable terminology have been used to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements relating to: (a) revenue generating potential with respect to E3 Lithium Ltd.’s industry; (b) market opportunity; (c) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s business plans and strategies; (d) services that E3 Lithium Ltd. intends to offer; (e) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s milestone projections and targets; (f) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s expectations regarding receipt of approval for regulatory applications; (g) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s intentions to expand into other jurisdictions including the timeline expectations relating to those expansion plans; and (h) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s expectations with regarding its ability to deliver shareholder value. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management in light of management’s experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, as of the date of this document including, without limitation, assumptions about: (a) the ability to raise any necessary additional capital on reasonable terms to execute E3 Lithium Ltd.’s business plan; (b) that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner; (c) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s ability to procure equipment and operating supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis; (d) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s ability to enter into contractual arrangements with additional Pharmacies; (e) the accuracy of budgeted costs and expenditures; (f) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; (g) political and regulatory stability; (h) the receipt of governmental, regulatory and third-party approvals, licenses and permits on favorable terms; (i) changes in applicable legislation; (j) stability in financial and capital markets; and (k) expectations regarding the level of disruption to as a result of CV-19. Such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of E3 Lithium Ltd. to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, without limitation: (a) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s operations could be adversely affected by possible future government legislation, policies and controls or by changes in applicable laws and regulations; (b) public health crises such as CV-19 may adversely impact E3 Lithium Ltd.’s business; (c) the volatility of global capital markets; (d) political instability and changes to the regulations governing E3 Lithium Ltd.’s business operations (e) E3 Lithium Ltd. may be unable to implement its growth strategy; and (f) increased competition.

Except as required by law, E3 Lithium Ltd. undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future event or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Neither does E3 Lithium Ltd. nor any of its representatives make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, sufficiency or completeness of the information in this document. Neither E3 Lithium Ltd. nor any of its representatives shall have any liability whatsoever, under contract, tort, trust or otherwise, to you or any person resulting from the use of the information in this document by you or any of your representatives or for omissions from the information in this document.

7) Any graphs, tables or other information demonstrating the historical performance or current or historical attributes of E3 Lithium Ltd. or any other entity contained in this document are intended only to illustrate historical performance or current or historical attributes of E3 Lithium Ltd. or such entities and are not necessarily indicative of future performance of E3 Lithium Ltd. or such entities.

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