2023-07-06 02:53:42
Canada announced on Wednesday evening that it had reached an agreement with car manufacturer Stellantis for the immediate resumption of construction of a battery factory on its soil, interrupted since May due to a disagreement over subsidies.
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“An agreement has been reached between the governments of Canada and Ontario, and Stellantis-LGES,” announced Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, in a joint statement with the Minister of Innovation, of Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne.
Stellantis, for its part, in a separate press release, indicated that the construction of the factory might resume “immediately” and specified that the launch of battery production was planned for 2024.
“This collective effort secured the deal and we are now resuming construction at the Windsor site,” said Mark Stewart, Stellantis North America COO.
“This agreement is good for workers and for Canada,” said Chrystia Freeland.
Stellantis had announced in March 2022, with the battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution, to invest 5 billion Canadian dollars in the construction of a mega-factory of batteries for electric vehicles in the region of Windsor (Ontario), which should make it possible to create 2,500 new jobs.
This region, on the border with Michigan and the city of Detroit, is the hub of the Canadian automotive sector.
However, in mid-May, the Franco-Italian-American builder felt that the Canadian government had “not respected the commitments made” and decided, as a result, to interrupt all construction work on the plant.
Canada has made considerable efforts in recent years to attract players in the electric vehicle sector, touting its tax incentives, clean energy and many rare minerals.
The Canadian strategy is in line with that of its first trading partner, the United States, whose major climate plan called the “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA) provides billions in subsidies for green industries.
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