Sask. could be crucial in the nation's electric vehicle industry — if Canada acts, report says

If Canada acts now, it could be a competitor in the electric vehicle battery supply chain, boosting the economy and adding jobs — and Saskatchewan could play a pivotal role.

That's according to a report released Wednesday by Clean Energy Canada alongside the non-profit Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing, looking at Canada's potential in the electric vehicle sector.

The report says that sector could add up to 250,000 jobs by 2030 and $48 billion to the economy each year. 

Evan Pivnick is the clean energy program manager at Clean Energy Canada — an energy and economic think-tank based at British Columbia's Simon Fraser University.

Canada's Prairie provinces already have innovative resource practices, he told The Morning Edition host Stefani Langenegger in an interview, nodding to Saskatchewan company Prairie Lithium. It derives the mineral from lithium-rich brine and is developing technology to separate it. Lithium is a key component of electric vehicle batteries.

The company completed its first well in southeast Saskatchewan in late 2021, saying it believes it could be the first well drilled for lithium brine in Canada, according to a news release.

Pivnick said the Prairies could share technology and know-how with other Canadian jurisdictions "about how we can seize some of the opportunities as that critical mineral powerhouse that we are, but to do so in a way that we make high environmental standards a hallmark of what the Canadian battery industry is known for."

Pam Schwann, president of the Saskatchewan Mining Association, said Saskatchewan could play an important role in Canada's processing of the valuable minerals.

Saskatchewan has two labs that process rare earth elements into magnets used in electric vehicle car batteries, among other technologies.

Schwann said both are having their grand openings on Tuesday.

Rare earth elements — a term that describes 17 metallic elements — are part of much of modern technology, including cellphones and wind turbines, in addition to electric vehicles.

She said one lab from Vital Metals, a Saskatoon-based company, is the only rare earth element producer in Canada, meaning Saskatchewan could play a crucial role in the country's purifying of the minerals.

"Without that processing step and without those processing facilities, Canada misses out on a key component of the value chain," Schwann said.

"That I see as an area that could be carved out for Saskatchewan really developing that global centre of expertise, where countries ship their rarest element concentrates to Saskatchewan … to be processed."