Mercedes-Benz has opened a uncooked supplies workplace in Canada because it pursues dependable sources of lithium and different crucial minerals for its battery-electric automobiles.

Markus Schäfer, chief expertise officer on the German automaker, mentioned the brand new workplace, which opened March 1, will put the corporate in “day by day contact” with stakeholders because it builds relationships with miners in North America.

“We’re going increasingly more on to the mine right here to safe supplies,” he mentioned on the firm’s annual environmental, social, and company governance convention March 30.

The automaker wouldn’t touch upon the situation of the brand new Canadian operation or what number of employees it would make use of, however Mercedes-Benz Canada spokesman Zakary Paget mentioned  the corporate has “made clear its vital curiosity” in exploring nearer collaboration with Canada on all levels of the automotive worth chain, together with uncooked supplies, manufacturing, and recycling.

“The corporate is within the very early levels of building a perform in Canada to maneuver these targets ahead and hopes to share extra substantive particulars within the coming months.”

The workplace is anticipated to ramp up operations over the identical interval, Paget mentioned in an electronic mail.

The addition footprint in Canada follows the signing of a non-binding memorandum of understanding between Mercedes-Benz and the federal authorities final August. The deal, struck throughout German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s official go to to Canada, included no agency commitments, however signalled the corporate’s intent to work extra intently with Ottawa, significantly on pure assets growth.

Volkswagen signed a comparable non-binding cope with the federal authorities in the course of the German delegation’s go to to Canada. It additionally pledged to arrange a Canadian workplace for its in-house battery unit PowerCo, and has moved rapidly to place down roots within the nation since. On March 13, it introduced plans to construct a battery cell manufacturing facility in St. Thomas, Ont.

Mercedes-Benz wouldn’t touch upon whether or not its new uncooked supplies workplace may result in a extra vital footprint in Canada sooner or later. The corporate’s Canadian unit operates solely as a gross sales and advertising enterprise at the moment, using about 250 employees.

On the firm’s ESG convention, Schäfer mentioned Mercedes-Benz is exploring additional offers in Canada’s lithium and wider uncooked supplies sectors. It signed an preliminary provide settlement final fall with Vancouver-based Rock Tech Lithium Inc., which owns a pre-production lithium mission close to Thunder Bay, Ont., and broke floor in March on a processing plant in Germany.