Stellandis & LG partner to develop batteries for electric vehicles in Canada

First change: 03/24/2022 – 03:56Last modified: 03/24/2022 – 03:54

The joint venture has pledged to invest $ 4.1 billion to build a plant in Windsor, Ontario, which will supply batteries to a “significant portion” of Stellandis’ electric vehicle production in North America, the companies said in a statement.

South Korea-based LGES has announced it will spend a further $ 1.4 billion to build a facility in the US state of Arizona to manufacture electric vehicle batteries and equipment manufacturers in North America.

This decision was taken due to the increasing demand for rechargeable vehicle batteries and cordless power tools in the region.

Construction of the Canadian plant is expected to begin in the coming months, with the goal of mass-producing batteries in the second half of 2024.

The alliance with Stellantis is part of Canada’s strategy to promote the production of advanced lithium-ion batteries for the North American electric vehicle market.

Industry Minister Franோois-Philippe Champagne, who attended the announcement in Windsor, described the merger as “the largest investment ever made in the history of our country’s automotive sector”.

“Canada is the only country in the Western Hemisphere that has the capability and materials to convert cobalt, graphite, lithium and nickel into the new generation batteries needed to run electric cars,” he said.

In acknowledging the initiative, both companies said they hoped the plant would “act as a catalyst to establish a strong battery supply chain in the region”.

The plant, which has an annual production capacity of 45 gigawatt hours (GWh) and employs 2,500 workers, is scheduled to go online in 2024.

Stellantis, born in January last year from the merger between Fiat-Chrysler and Peugot, aims to return to battery-electric vehicles as strict pollution controls force the removal of internal combustion engines.

© 2022 AFP