Renaissance wrote:

As you may know, Franois Legault, Quebec’s prime minister, is curently in Ontario, meeting with Doug Ford, Ontario’s prime minister, to discuss, among other things, the economic recovery of the two provinces.

Radio Canada just published an article that includes the following comment;
« There are sectors like aerospace or the electrification of transportation, from minerals to batteries, where both provinces have an interest. So we agreed to create a common force to have joint projects that we will develop, explained Quebec Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon. »

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1732488/legault-ford-quebec-ontario-rencontre-reprise-economique-reponse-sanitaire

Why do I think that the comment minister Fitzgibbon made today could be very interesting?

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On October 15, 2019, Le Journal de Montreal published that the Quebec government was in discussions with Tesla for the construction of a battery plant and that Investissement Quebec was preparing to invest millions of dollars in the lithium-ion sector.

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2019/10/15/quebec-en-discussions-avec-tesla-pour-un-projet-ici

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On July 24, 2020, the Mining Technology website published an article titled;

“Elon Musk pledges “giant contract” for sustainable nickel miners”

Elon Musk, CEO of US electric vehicle and clean energy company Tesla, has promised a “giant contract for a long period of time” to any company able to extract nickel in an efficient and environmentally sustainable manner. Nickel is a key ingredient in the batteries that power Tesla’s electric vehicles...

...Tesla’s primary battery technology is based on a blend of nickel, cobalt and aluminium, but Tesla is said to be moving away from cobalt over ethical mining concerns as well as cost factors…

...In Western markets, particularly North America, a longer range is required – which is where nickel becomes necessary.

Nickel makes batteries energy-dense. That means batteries can be smaller, lighter, and can go longer between charges. Sourcing enough of the battery metal in sustainable, ethical ways is vital for the mass adoption of electric vehicles and the energy transition…

...There are three potential suppliers – Vale, BHP, and Norilsk Nickel. The ongoing fuel spill disasters in Russia, which a Norilsk Nickel subsidiary is responsible for, might be off-putting for Musk’s sustainability drive, however. Vale has operations in Canada which make use of hydropower, so could be the more attractive partner for Tesla…

...Research firm Wood Mackenzie predicts nickel consumption in electric vehicle batteries will soar 64% by 2025 compared with 2019 levels. Satisfying this increase in demand could prove difficult with nickel prices down versus September 2019’s five-year peak. According to Reuters, nickel dropped to a 14-month low in March, and while it has recovered slightly since, it is still around 30% down compared with those September peaks.

Despite Musk’s big offers, it could be difficult to convince miners to invest in increasing production of nickel. Tesla’s “Battery Day” event is slated for September, where the company is expected to reveal new technological advances in its electric vehicle batteries.

The following link will take you to the complete article.

https://www.mining-technology.com/features/elon-musk-pledges-giant-contract-for-sustainable-nickel-miners/#:~:text=Elon%20Musk%2C%20CEO%20of%20US,that%20power%20Tesla%27s%20electric%20vehicles.

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Although Quebec has nickel mining activities, there is no nickel refining facility in Quebec.

Vale headquarters are in Toronto. They have mining operations in Sudbury, and a nickel refinery in Port Colborne on the shores of Lake Erie on the Niagara Peninsula.

http://www.vale.com/canada/EN/business/mining/nickel/vale-canada/Pages/default.aspx

It would not be very hard to ship refined nickel from Port Colborne to a battery facility located in Quebec.

The Quebec government is going ahead with it’s plans to develop the battery sector. They have said from the beginning that they would need foreign investments of up to $6 billions. I believe they are progressing towards their goal of getting Tesla to build a battery factory in Quebec.

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The following link will take you to a September 23, 2015, article, that says that Tesla has started to use silicon in their battery anodes;

“In addition to the awesome engineering achievements that push the power limits to new heights, CEO Elon Musk revealed a bit more about the increase in energy density of the cells in the new 90 kWh pack. During a conference call, Musk told reporters that “it is, actually, as a result of improved cell chemistry. We’re shifting the cell chemistry for the upgraded pack to partially use silicon in the anode. This is just sort of a baby step in the direction of using silicon in the anode. We’re still primarily using synthetic graphite, but over time we’ll be using increasing amounts of silicon in the anode.”

https://chargedevs.com/features/tesla-tweaks-its-battery-chemistry-a-closer-look-at-silicon-anode-development/

If Musk is looking for sustainable and ethical nickel, he must certainly be looking for the same criteria when he wants to buy silicon. That and the right nano-powder at the lowest cost of course.

https://hpqsilicon.com/video/supply-of-silicon-metal-manufacturers-battery-passport/