The City of Windsor has agreed to lease a parcel of land at the Windsor Airport to a battery materials developer for construction of a specialized manufacturing facility.

NEO Battery Materials Ltd. announced the agreement on January 24. The company says the agreement marks a critical step toward establishing Canada’s first advanced silicon anode manufacturing facility.

NEO will lease eight acres of land on which it intends to build a commercial plant that can produce 5,000 tons of silicon anodes annually. The project is currently valued at $70 million, but the company expects that figure to rise to as much as $120 million over the next eight years as it expands operations.

“We are proud to be establishing Canada’s first advanced silicon anode manufacturing facility, enabling us to address the increasing demand for high-performance and cost-effective battery technologies,” said NEO CEO Spencer Huh.

The facility is expected to create more than 100 skilled jobs when fully operational.