2023-05-29 18:30:23
Quebec and Ottawa have just confirmed joint financial assistance of 300 million dollars (M$) to General Motors (GM) and the South Korean Posco Future M – formerly Posco Chemical – for the construction of a new plant of 600 M$ in Bécancour for the production of battery materials.
This investment, announced more than a year ago, will be made by Ultium CAM, a joint venture between GM and Posco. This plant will specialize in the production of active cathode materials for the battery industry. Eventually, some 200 jobs would be created there.
The Premier of Quebec, François Legault, made the announcement today in the presence of the federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne. The Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon and the CEO of Investissement Québec, Guy Leblanc, were also present.
“A new era”
The governments of Quebec and Canada will lend $151.87 million and $147 million respectively to the project. At a press conference, Minister Champagne specified that this joint aid allows Quebec to acquire the “first cathode factory in Canada”.
screenshot | VAT News
Prime Minister François Legault, announcing a $152 million loan to GM and Posco, for the construction of its Bécancour plant.
The start-up of this plant, scheduled for 2025, will consolidate the position of the province “as an important player in the battery sector in North America”, estimates Quebec. Pierre Fizgibbon spoke of a “new era” since that of the construction of large dams by Hydro-Québec.
The Ultium CAM plant, already under construction near Highway 30, will be located in Bécancour, just over two hours from Montreal. The fruit of its production will be used to produce batteries for electric vehicles produced by GM, including the Chevrolet Silverado EV, the GMC HUMMER EV and the Cadillac LYRIQ.
The American automaker says it plans to produce one million electric vehicles per year from 2025. Last July, the American Department of Energy pledged to lend 2.5 billion (G) US dollars to GM for the construction of three battery cell manufacturing plants in the states of Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan.
Billions in Ontario
In recent months, both GM and Germany’s Vokswagen have announced billions in investments to build electric car production plants in Ontario. In April, Le Journal went to St-Thomas to tell the story of this Ontario town that succeeded in winning over the Volks plant in Quebec.
Courtesy picture
Aerial view of Bécancour.
At the same time, the government announced on Monday investments of $8 million for seven research and infrastructure projects. These will attempt to accelerate the development of the battery sector and the electrification of transport, to decarbonize the industrial port area of Bécancour and to increase the production and use of green hydrogen.
In addition to the new Ultium CAM factory, the new innovation zone – called Energy Transition Valley – includes Vale (nickel), Nouveau Monde Graphite (graphite), Nemaska Lithium (lithium hydroxide), BASF (battery components) , FLO (charging stations) and Air Liquide (hydrogen).
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