Automaker Stellantis and lithium-ion battery developer LG Energy Solution will jointly construct the country’s first large scale electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in Windsor, Ontario, the companies said on March 23.
Stellantis and LG Energy Solution's Joint Venture for Battery Production in Ontario
The plant will have a battery production talent of over 45 GWh/year and will provide "a substantial portion of Stellantis' vehicle production needs in North America," the groups said in a joint statement.
The operations at the facility are projected to start in early 2024.
“This joint venture with LG Energy Solution is another milestone that will help Stellantis achieve its ambitious electrification roadmap in the region that targets 50% of our sales in the US and Canada to be battery electric vehicles by the end of the decade,” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement.
The Netherlands-headquartered Stellantis and South Korea-headquartered LGES said the plant would act as a catalyst for a more robust battery supply chain in Ontario.
“Establishing a joint-venture battery manufacturing company in Canada, one of the best countries in terms of renewable energy resources, is the most important step toward the goal of LG Energy Solution to provide power for a larger number of electric vehicles across the world,” LGES CEO Youngsoo Kwon said in a statement.
A joint venture from Stellantis and LGES, the investment will provide upwards of $4.1B to the project, in addition to government support from at the local, regional, and federal levels in Canada.
“Partnerships like these are vital to building new jobs and placing Canada on the leading edge of the clean economy,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in the statement.
Stellantis' EV Sales Goals
By 2030, Stellantis expects global EV sales to reach 5 million vehicles a year. This includes the expectation that EVs will comprise 100% of its passenger car sales in Europe, and 50% of its passenger car and light-duty truck sales in North America.
Ontario Aims to be EV Leader
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the investment to manufacture batteries will help Ontario build on its auto and battery making leadership.
“Our government is not just attracting cutting-edge investments, we’re also linking northern Ontario’s resources, industry, and workforce to the southern Ontario manufacturing powerhouses to strengthen home-grown supply chains,” Ford said in a statement.
In 2019, Ontario announced a 10-year strategy for restructuring its auto making sector during electrification initiatives. The Stellantis-LGES plant is the second phase of the region's plan, which aims to "transform the province's automotive supply chain to build the cars of the future," the statement said.
“Our government is positioning Ontario as a leader in the emerging North American EV battery industry through our Driving Prosperity auto plan, strategic investments across our integrated supply chains, and by cutting the cost of doing business here by almost $7 billion a year,” said Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation, and trade.
LGES Expands North American Investments
The Ontario battery plan follows an announcement from LGES on March 22 that it would expand capacity at its Holland, Michigan, battery plant with an investment of $1.7 billion.
“LG Energy Solution’s more than $1.7 billion investment in Michigan is creating 1,200 good jobs in West Michigan and will allow us to continue to lead the way in building and deploying next-generation transportation solutions,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “LGES’ continued investment in our state further solidifies Michigan’s leadership role in battery manufacturing as the automotive industry transitions to an electric future.”
The investment will increase battery production capacity at the Holland facility by five times, but LGES did not specify capacity for the plant.
“I look forward with great hope to the realization of LG Energy Solution’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 and the ripple effects of environmental business in Michigan and beyond,” LGES Michigan president Bonchul Koo said in a statement.
With the investments in Ontario and Michigan, LGES' battery production capacity in North America is expected to exceed 200 GWh/year, enough to supply batteries for 2.5 million EVs.
Stellantis Raises Planned Battery Capacity
Besides in Ontario, Stellantis said on March 23 it would also build another battery gigafactory in Italy.
The automaker now thinks its planned battery capacity of its five battery manufacturing plants, with additional supply contracts, will weigh in at 400 GWh/year.
The Italy gigafactory will be co-located at Stellantis' existing Termoli plant alongside the company's Automotive Cells JV partners (TotalEnergies/Saft and Mercedes-Benz). By 2030, the plant will have at least 120 GWh capacity.
