Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
April 15, 2022 07:30 AM

Stellantis-LG $3.9B battery plant will 'create a new supply chain' in Canada

The Stellantis-LG EV-battery factory is the beginning of an auto revolution 'as big as the transformation from the horseless carriage to the internal-combustion engine'

Greg MacAluso
Automotive News Canada
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    BATTERYPLANT Group.jpg

    The plant, slated to begin operations in August 2024, can produce 45 gigawatt-hours (gWh) of lithium-ion cells and modules a year to feed the automaker’s assembly operations in Canada and the United States

    The C$5 billion (US$3.9 billion) battery plant destined for Windsor, Ontario, is the largest single automotive investment in Canadian history and is expected to spark the country’s electric-vehicle revolution with a new supply chain and thousands of jobs.

    “I describe this as being as big as the transformation from the horseless carriage to the internal-combustion engine,” said Drew Dilkens, mayor of the city that will host Canada’s first large-scale battery factory.

    “And, perhaps even larger when we consider the environmental factors.”

    The plant is the result of a joint venture between Stellantis (49 per cent) and South Korea-based LG Energy Solution (51 per cent). It’s expected to employ about 3,200 people. At 4.5 million square feet it will be one of largest battery plants in North America.

    The project and its details were announced at a March 23 press conference by senior company officials and government. Windsor assembled the land package for the site in the city’s east end and offered tax breaks, while the federal and provincial governments were expected to each kick in C$500 million (US$396 million) after a tweet from a Liberal MP cited Ottawa’s contribution.

    The plant, slated to begin operations in August 2024, can produce 45 gigawatt-hours (gWh) of lithium-ion cells and modules a year to feed the automaker’s assembly operations in Canada and the United States, said Mark Stewart, chief operating officer of Stellantis North America. He would not relate that to volume, as battery packs can vary greatly in size, but the plant has the capacity to supply 450,000 100-kilowatt-hour packs.

    The new battery plant will be one of two — the second will be in the United States — that will supply parts for the automaker's electric vehicles in the two countries. Stewart expects more than half of Stellantis’ vehicles to be electric by 2030.

    EFFECTS FELT FAR AND WIDE

    Across the sector, the joint venture “is going to create a new supply chain,” said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA).

    “We’re going to see jobs in battery-thermal-management systems, inverters [and] cell manufacturing. In addition ... this is going to help to underpin all the traditional suppliers of cars that we were worried are going to be made somewhere else.

    “You’re not going to invest $5 billion in a battery plant to decide to make cars someplace else [other] than Windsor or Brampton, [Ont.]”

    The battery factory will spur investment in a homegrown EV supply chain, including mineral extraction and refining, final assembly of batteries and EVs, and battery recycling, said Volpe.

    “This should be felt as far out as Val-d’or [Que.] up to Timmins, [Ont.]”

    Indeed, LG Energy is already scouting further “mines to mobility” expansion in Canada, said Denise Gray, a company spokeswoman based in Troy, Mich.

    “We’ve got all the upstream supply chain that we also have to make sure we have access to,” she said. “Those are awesome opportunities for investment.”

    Developing regional supply chains is key, Gray said. “From an automotive industry perspective, we always talk about just-in-time [delivery], which means having clusters of all of your partners together because you can reduce logistics costs and make sure you can manage quantities appropriately,” she said.

    “We’re hoping to continue to develop supply chains, and the closer we can get it to where we are, the better.”

    MORE INVESTMENT

    While the plant will initially assemble lithium-ion cells, it will be able to adapt to new battery technologies and chemistries, said Stellantis’ Stewart.

    “We’re not going to build a facility this large with LG without continuing to invest in the future, whatever it is — the best technologies for our customers in terms of best range, best cost effectiveness and best for the environment,” he said.

    The investment also includes research-and-development commitments involving several Ontario education institutions as well as Stellantis’ research center, run jointly with the University of Windsor.

    “We know the battery is the future of the electric car,” said Francois-Philippe Champagne, the federal minister of innovation, science and industry.“So there are always research and development commitments. ... We’re anchoring the ecosystem of the battery of the future right here, [and it] will have a rippling effect.”

    Plant construction is expected to begin by summer, with the first products available in summer 2024. Full capacity is expected in 2025.

    Completed modules will be shipped to a yet-to-be-disclosed location for battery-pack assembly, said LG’s Gray.

    Job postings will range from assembly and skilled trades to manufacturing design, machinery and equipment adjustment, and logistics, she said. Hiring has yet to begin, but Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the spinoff jobs could total 17,000. The battery plant is the latest in a recent flurry of automotive investment announcements by Honda, General Motors, BASF and SK Posco. Champagne said that more announcements are in the works.

    “Canada’s proximity to markets, resources, assembly lines [means] we are well positioned to attract these investments,” he said. “Some of the big decisions [globally] are being made today as to where these big plants will be located.

    “We must stay strategic with a long-term vision to ensure we seize the moment.”

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Bank failures complicate the picture for the US economy
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Redline buys Georgia-based Quality Holdings
    2
    Mattress maker Purple continues fight against takeover
    3
    Ineos workers in Ohio on strike
    4
    Redline's ‘outrageous cultural behaviors' retain top employees
    5
    Material Insights: Polypropylene production — both virgin and recycled — in the spotlight
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified