Ottawa and Ontario have reached an agreement with a global materials recycling and technology group to build a new battery component installation in the Lealista Municipality of the province that will supply spare parts for electric vehicles.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the partnership with Belgium-based Umicore NV on Wednesday, saying it would result in a new facility providing materials for one million electric vehicles a year.
The plant will create 1,000 jobs while it is being built and hundreds of long-term jobs once it is up and running, he said.
“Canada will not only be a global player in electric vehicles,” Trudeau said in Kingston, Ontario. “With this and other announcements we have made, we show that we are becoming world leaders.”
Umicore’s investment of $1.5 billion includes money from the federal and provincial governments, although a provincial spokesperson will not disclose the amounts of the funds.
Trudeau said such investments are part of a “big bet” that Canada can be a key international player when it comes to electric vehicle supply chains.
“We’ve been moving forward with big announcements, most of them (in) partnership with the Ontario government, covering the entire supply chain,” he said. “People have realized that… Canada is a very exciting place to invest.”
The facility will house the production of cathodes and precursor materials, the province said, noting that cathodes account for about half the value of an electric vehicle battery.
Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Umicore, said three reasons led to choosing Loyalist Township and Ontario for the “gigafactory.”
“The first is the availability of clean energy,” Miedreich said. “This is what we really want to do if we want to build an electric vehicle, and that is (a) check for Canada and also (a) check for Ontario.”
Miedreich said Canada’s “unique” availability of resources compared to all of North America also made it a desirable option.
“The third (reason) was the availability of talent, critical talent, and here especially (in) the Loyalist Township and Kingston area,” he said, noting that was the “dealing” factor.
Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said the investment was a “landmark announcement” and the province said the plant would be nearly carbon neutral.
“This is … a great investment for the people of Ontario,” he said.
Premier Doug Ford has previously spoken about wanting to establish Ontario as a leader in every step of the electric vehicle manufacturing process, from the critical minerals needed for batteries to assembly.
Federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the plant will fill a gap in Canada’s electric vehicle system by strengthening a key part of the battery manufacturing process.
“The auto sector is spreading across the country now,” Champagne said. “Not only is it concentrated, but now Kingston will be part of the automotive sector in Canada.”
The province said construction of the Umicore plant is expected to start next year, with operations currently planned for late 2025.
– with Laura Osman Archives in Ottawa.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 13, 2022.