Dive Brief:
- Battery materials maker Umicore will open a plant in Ontario, Canada. The plant will combine the production of EV battery components cathode anode material and precursor CAM.
- The company will invest approximately $1.34 billion and Umicore will receive "substantial financial support" from the Canadian and Ontario governments, according to a press release.
- The site completes Umicore’s plans for a global network of regionally integrated battery materials supply chains, the company said.
Dive Insight:
During the project’s initial phase, the factory will have an annual capacity of 35 gigawatts, enough to power roughly 800,000 EVs a year, Canada government officials said. The plant’s production will use only renewable energy.
The site is expected to be commissioned at the end of 2025 with production starting in 2026.
Umicore has already established partnerships with multiple auto manufacturers looking to build their EV lineups. BMW recently announced a new partnership with Umicore for the supply of cathode active components, and the battery material maker has been working with BMW parent company Volkswagen for nearly a year.
Construction of the site is expected to generate approximately 1,000 jobs, while several hundred positions will be created in operations.
The Canadian federal government is offering Umicore approximately $402 million in investment, while the Ontario government is investing up to approximately $310 million.
The Canada government has been pouring billions into EV plant subsidies as part of its Strategic Innovation Fund and Critical Materials Strategy.
The Canadian government recently provided Stellantis and LG Energy Solution with up to approximately $10.9 billion in federal subsidies for the companies’ joint battery plant in Ontario.
In just three years, Ontario has seen over $26 billion in automotive and EV-related investments in the province.
“Umicore is proud of, and delighted with, the unwavering support and financial backing of Canada and Ontario. Their readiness to co-fund our investment coupled with the announcement of our first customer contract for the Loyalist plant mean we can forge ahead with the construction,” Umicore CEO Mathias Miedreich said in a statement.
