Electric or bust: A snapshot of recent EV and battery announcements

OTTAWA — In the last 19 months, 10 new investments in critical mineral mining, battery and electric vehicle production have been announced in Ontario and Quebec. Canada has development agreements with two of Germany’s biggest automakers who don’t have a presence in Canada beyond dealerships. 

Here’s a snapshot of those plans.

Where the federal or provincial contribution is known it is listed. Where it is not listed, the companies are citing commercial privacy on the funding plans, or negotiations for government cash are still ongoing.

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March 15, 2021: Lion Electric, Saint-Jerome, Que.

Automated battery pack assembly plant to make batteries for Lion Electric’s commercial EV products including school buses, transit buses, semi-trucks and bucket trucks.

$185 million (incl. $50 million each from Canada, Quebec)

Maintain 1,100 jobs.

Estimated completion date: 2023

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June 8, 2021: Nova Bus, Saint-Eustache, Saint-François-du-Lac, Que.

Upgrading existing manufacturing facilities to reduce emissions, expand research to produce zero-emission transit buses.

$184.5 million ($15 million Canada)

Maintain 1,100 jobs.

Estimated completion date: unknown.

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March 4, 2022: BASF, Bécancour, Que. 

Cathode active materials production and recycling plant

$700 million

100 jobs

Estimated completion date: 2025

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March 7, 2022: General Motors/POSCO Chemical, Bécancour, Que.

Cathode active material production facility to supply GM batteries for its fleet of electric vehicles. 

$500 million

200 jobs.

Estimated completion date: 2025

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March 16, 2022: Honda, Alliston, Ont.

Retooling existing auto production facility to be able to make electric vehicles.

$1.4 billion (incl. $131.6 million each from Canada, Ontario governments)

Maintaining 4,000 jobs. 

Estimated completion date: 2028.

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March 23, 2022: LG Energy Solution/Stellantis, Windsor, Ont. 

Build Canada’s first large-scale gigafactory, producing batteries that will be used in Stellantis EVs.

$5 billion.

2,500 jobs.

Estimated completion date: 2025.

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April 4, 2022: General Motors, Ingersoll, Oshawa, Ont. 

Restart production at Oshawa auto plant, contribute to transformation of the CAMI production plant in Ingersoll to become Canada’s first full-scale commercial electric vehicle production facility.

$2 billion. ($259 million each, Canada, Ontario)

5,000 total jobs, including 2,600 new jobs

Estimated completion date: 2022

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May 2, 2022: Stellantis, Windsor, Brampton, Ont.

Expanding production, and retooling Stellantis plants in Windsor and Brampton so they can make electric vehicles, create an EV battery testing lab, and an EV research centre of excellence.

$3.6 billion (incl. $529 million from Canada, $513 million from Ontario)

16,000 jobs maintained or created.

Estimated completion date: 2025

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July 13, 2022: Umicore, Loyalist Township, Ont.

Build a plant to make precursor cathode material, and active cathode material to eventually supply enough batteries to power one million electric vehicles.

$1.5 billion (Canada’s contribution still under negotiation)

1,000 jobs

Estimated completion date: 2025.

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Aug. 23, 2022: Volkswagen, Mercedes

Signing memorandums of understanding to explore the development of battery supply chain components in Canada, including but not limited to raw materials. 

No dollar amounts or projects yet. 

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Oct. 11, 2022: Rio Tinto, Sorel-Tracy, Que.

Increase critical mineral production at existing facility, including expanding titanium production, adding lithium and quadrupling production of scandium.

Up to $737 million (incl. $222 million from Canada)

150 new jobs

Estimated completion date: 2030

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2022.

The Canadian Press