Just a few days ago, we told our readers that CATL is thinking about building a battery factory somewhere in North America, possibly in Canada. Now comes word that Stellantis and LG Energy Solution (LGES) have plans to build a battery factory together in Windsor, Ontario, directly across the Detroit River from America’s self-proclaimed Motor City. Autoblog reports LGES will own 51% of the joint venture, with Stellantis owning the remainder.
According to Electrive, the annual production capacity of the new $4 billion factory will be 45 gigawatt-hours (GWh). LG Energy already has a battery factory in Michigan, is building two more in conjunction with General Motors, and has another under consideration in Arizona. The total capacity of all its North American factories will exceed 200 GWh a year — enough to power approximately 2.5 million electric vehicles.
The battery modules from Ontario will cover “a large part of Stellantis’ production needs in North America,” according to the company. The two corporations say they expect “the new battery factory to serve as a catalyst for building a strong battery supply chain in the region,” a recognition of the new geopolitical realities following the Russian assault on Ukraine. The factory will create 2,500 new jobs and is expected to begin production in about 2 years.
“Our joint venture with LG Energy Solution is yet another stepping stone to achieving our aggressive electrification roadmap in the region aimed at hitting 50% of battery electric vehicle sales in the US and Canada by the end of the decade,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. “We are grateful to the Municipal, Provincial and Federal levels of government for their support and commitment to help position Canada as a North American leader in the production of electric vehicle batteries.”
At its EV Day last summer, Stellantis announced that Dodge, its US muscle car brand, will launch its first electric car in 2024, and Ram will sell an electric version of the 1500 pickup truck in 2024. The upcoming Jeep Wagoneer will be a battery-electric premium SUV, which will be aimed primarily at US customers.
“Through this joint venture, LG Energy Solution will be able to position itself as a critical player in building green energy value chains in the region,” said Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy Solution. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau added, “Today’s announcement of a world leading facility to build electric vehicle batteries in Windsor is an investment in our workers, our communities and our future. Partnerships like these are critical to creating new jobs and putting Canada on the cutting edge of the clean economy.”
The day before, Stellantis also announced another battery manufacturing project in Europe: The ACC joint venture — comprised of TotalEnergies, Stellantis, and Mercedes-Benz — will convert the Termoli engine manufacturing facility in Italy into a battery cell factory. As part of that announcement, the three companies said their factories in Douvrin, France, and Kaiserslautern, Germany, will both expanded production from 24 GWH to 40 GWh a year, bringing ACC’s target for Europe to 120 GWh by 2030.
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