Windsor, Ont., is where Korean giant LG and Stellantis will build the country’s first $5 billion battery “mega-factory,” the Trudeau government announced in the neighboring province on Wednesday.
“The establishment of a world-class electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Windsor that we are announcing today is an investment in our workers, our communities and our future,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. in a video message during the announcement.
“We will continue to work hard to encourage other companies to establish themselves in Canada and thus create jobs, generate economic spinoffs and build a carbon-neutral future,” said Minister of Industry François – Philippe Champagne.
According to our information, summit meetings have taken place with the minister and senior LG executives in recent weeks.
It is not yet known how much public money the federal government will put into the project.
Construction of the plant is expected to begin at the end of the year. Production will begin by the end of the first quarter of 2024 and the plant will be fully operational by 2025.
“LG Energy Solution (LGES) wants to be the world’s leading manufacturer of batteries that will power electric vehicles in North America, and that’s an aspiration shared by the Government of Canada and Stellantis,” shared the CEO of LG Energy Solution, Youngsoo Kwon.
“We should be able to capture 50% of battery electric vehicle sales in the United States and Canada by the end of the decade,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
Quebec sector
At the beginning of March, General Motors (GM) and POSCO Chemical had announced their intention to build a $500 million plant in Bécancour, following the $1 billion plant of the German giant BASF.
“This is the first time in the history of Quebec where we are able to take the ore and go so far in the chain”, had underlined in an interview with the Journal the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon.
- LG Energy Solution holds 23% of the global EV battery market share.
