PILOT PROJECT FOR THE QUEBEC BATTERY SECTOR
Several measures, regulations and laws are currently being implemented in some countries to secure the local supply chain, or supply from allied countries, in Critical and Strategic Minerals (CSM). For example, Europe has announced the implementation of a Battery Passport from 2027 to track their origin, lifecycle and recyclability.
The Quebec battery sector has an interest in positioning itself upstream of traceability requirements. This traceability will allow the Quebec sector to be proactive in promoting its strengths and will give companies a competitive advantage with many buyers in North America, Europe and, potentially, in Asia such as South Korea and Japan.
The traceability project
Propulsion Québec is launching a pilot project for traceability of CSM in the Quebec battery sector. This project involves deploying a traceability and data-sharing platform among the companies involved throughout the Quebec battery sector's value chain, from the mine to recycling.
This project aims to anticipate international regulations on battery traceability, in order to ensure, for Quebec, access to global markets, notably in Europe.
The project will use the Optchain platform, developed and managed by the Quebec company OPTEL, project implementation partner of the project.
Six participants will be able to add, on the platform, their ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) data, including carbon footprint, as well as traceability of CSM in each link of the value chain. The information, stored securely, will then be ready to be shared with end customers and/or the next actor in the supply chain.
Project objectives :
Contribute to the development of a strategy for the traceability of battery materials and components, to raise the maturity of the Quebec ecosystem and make it ready to meet upcoming regulatory requirements and those of their clients with respect to data sharing ;
Facilitate the access to a traceability platform for certain Quebec actors so that they can share their data with their clients and showcase their strengths ;
Facilitate the collaboration among the different actors of the battery value chain ;
Reconcile, with a view to the future European battery passport, the indicators and data tracked by the "Towards Sustainable Mining" initiative of the Mining Association of Canada, and by the Global Battery Alliance internationally.
Participating companies
“At Dumont Nickel, we firmly believe that traceability and transparency are essential levers to build a credible, competitive supply chain that meets the expectations of international markets. Our participation in this project reflects our desire to play an active role in the energy transition of Quebec and Canada” François Vézina, Chief Operating Officer of Dumont Nickel
“At the global level, traceability is becoming a key lever to ensure the sustainability of supply chains for critical minerals. For Lithion, this pilot project represents an opportunity to innovate and anticipate global trends. By actively participating, we contribute to developing important technologies to ensure the circularity of battery materials not only here in Quebec and Canada, but also around the world.” Eva Carissimi, Vice President and General Manager of Lithion Technologies.
“The traceability of minerals and battery components is an important step to add concrete value to products that meet rigorous ESG criteria. This project will lay the foundations for trade with markets that share our values. Nano One is proud to contribute to establishing traceability mechanisms for our industry, which will ultimately improve the environmental footprint of batteries around the world.” Denis Geoffroy, Chief Commercialization Officer at Nano One.
The names of the next participants will be announced later.
This project is made possible thanks to :
to the financial support from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests (MNRF) ;
to the contribution of Optel, project implementation partner ;
to the financial commitment and time contribution of the six participating partner companies ;
