Port Windsor to move one million tonnes of aggregate for EV plant construction
The construction of a new electric-vehicle battery plant in Windsor has led to unprecedented activity at the Port of Windsor.
The Windsor Port Authority announced last week that more than one million tonnes of aggregate will flow through its docks between now and Christmas to prepare the site for the $5-billion plant for construction.
The one million tonnes will require more than 50 marine deliveries from quarries in northern Michigan, Ontario and Ohio. Once the aggregate is delivered to the port, 400 truckloads per day will deliver the material to the plant site in Windsor's east side Twin Oaks Industrial Park.
The massive factory – Canada's first gigafactory – will be the size of about 112 NHL hockey rinks.
“Once again Port Windsor is a critical link in the supply and delivery of essential materials that support and build our economy, bringing prosperity to Windsor-Essex,” said port authority president and CEO Steve Salmons. “From the EV plant to the Gordie Howe International Bridge, and the upcoming mega-hospital, Port Windsor will be there to ensure the most economical and low-carbon delivery of construction materials.”
This quantity of aggregate is more than double the volume that would flow through the port in one of its best years. During construction of the herb Grey Parkway, for example, Salmons estimates 1.5 million tonnes of aggregate flowed through the port – but that was over a period of 18 months. This volume is moving through in just three.
Port Windsor is Ontario’s third largest port. Each year the Port Authority receives more than 600 ships, delivering more than five million tonnes of aggregate, salt, steel and grain to Windsor-Essex, and ports across the Great Lakes, and into Europe. It also hosts Ontario’s largest ship fueling depot.
Back in March, Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions announced a partnership to build a large-scale lithium-ion battery production plant on over 200-acres of land on Twin Oaks Drive near Banwell Road.
The manufacturing facility, to be known as NextStar Energy, is being supported by the city, province and federal government through incentives and funding.
Workforce Windsor-Essex estimates that said on top of the 2,500 jobs created directly at the plant, as many as 10,000 spin-off jobs will be created locally.