Electric vehicle battery plant to be built in Windsor
The Canadian Press
WINDSOR, Ont. — Automaker Stellantis and South Korean battery-maker LG Energy Solution will build a large-scale electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont., an announcement federal and provincial leaders said positions Ontario to build the cars of the future from start to finish.
The more than $5-billion investment, announced Wednesday, is the largest in Canadian automotive manufacturing history, said federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
"When I look at the announcement today, I think it's a great example of how you can create an economy that's going to be growing, but also that we would be in the economy of the 21st century, a greener economy," he said.
"Thanks to our many competitive advantages – I can think of the proximity to market, proximity to resources, proximity to the assembly line – we are well positioned to attract this investment."
The battery facility will supply Stellantis plants in North America and will employ about 2,500 people. Construction is set to start this year, with a goal of being fully operational by 2025.
Ford touted the investment as part of his auto strategy to establish Ontario as a leader in each step of the electric vehicle manufacturing process, from the critical minerals needed for the batteries to assembly.
"The cars of the future will be built in Ontario from start to finish because we made a promise to support our auto sector," he said.
The federal and provincial governments are investing "hundreds of millions of dollars" in the plant, Ford said, but he wouldn't divulge the exact amounts as he said it would compromise negotiations with other companies.
Ford's "Driving Prosperity" auto strategy released last year aims to build at least 400,000 electric vehicles and hybrids in the province by 2030 and establish a battery production facility, seemingly a far cry from the premier of 2018.
Shortly after he was elected, Ford scrapped electric vehicle rebates, stopped building provincially funded charging stations, and dropped a requirement for new homes to include wiring for potential EV chargers.
Ford is still resistant to the idea of rebates, but his government on Tuesday announced for the first time that it would put provincial money toward a network of public EV charging stations, to the tune of $91 million.
On the production side, he has announced a critical minerals strategy, seeking to attract more development and investment in the northern regions home to the materials used in smartphones, solar panels and electric vehicle batteries, and connect it to manufacturing in the south.
The province is also giving $500 million in loans and grants to a $1.8-billion ArcelorMittal Dofasco project to make its steelmaking process greener, replacing coal-fed coke ovens and blast furnaces with low-emission technology. Ford has said the clean steel will be a "critical ingredient" in electric vehicle production.
Stellantis and LG Energy Solution said they expect the plant to serve as a "catalyst" to establish a strong battery supply chain in the Windsor region.
“Our joint venture with LG Energy Solution is yet another stepping stone to achieving our aggressive electrification road map in the region, aimed at hitting 50 per cent of battery-electric vehicle sales in the U.S. and Canada by the end of the decade,” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement.
“We are grateful to the municipal, provincial and federal levels of government for their support and commitment to help position Canada as a North American leader in the production of electric-vehicle batteries.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in video greetings – he couldn't attend the announcement as he is in Europe to help co-ordinate NATO's response to Russia's attack on Ukraine – that such partnerships are crucial to creating new jobs and putting Canada on the cutting edge of green technology.
"The world is moving to clean tech and this is Canada's time to lead the way," Trudeau said.
"Today’s announcement of a multibillion-dollar facility to build electric vehicle batteries is an investment in our workers, our communities and our future."
(C) The Canadian Press