Japan’s industry minister, Yasutoshi Nishimura, announced on Tuesday that Japan and Canada are in discussions to collaborate on building strong supply chains for battery metals. According to Nishimura, a public-private mission led by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and consisting of 16 companies that work with batteries visited Canada last week for talks on building sustainable and resilient supply chains.
Nishimura highlighted Canada’s abundance of battery metals and good market access to the United States, noting that “Canada is one of the most important countries for Japan when it comes to strengthening our supply chains of storage battery metals.” However, he did not provide specific details of the talks.
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As the chair of the Group of Seven nations (G7) this year, Japan is committed to promoting a realistic energy transition and will hold a ministerial meeting on climate, energy, and environment in the city of Sapporo on April 15-16, followed by a G7 summit in Hiroshima on May 19-21. Nishimura stated that he would take various opportunities, including the upcoming G7 ministerial meeting, to reinforce cooperation with Canada.
The adoption of renewable energy and electrification of automobiles and other devices are essential for Japan to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, making batteries a critical technology. By collaborating with Canada, Japan can secure a stable and diverse supply of battery metals, contributing to the development of sustainable and resilient supply chains for the future.
