Canada and the province of Ontario are providing financial support of up to one billion Canadian dollars to Belgian company Umicore for the construction of a factory to produce battery components for electric vehicles. The maximum amount corresponds to 734 million US dollars or 696.5 million euros. The facility, which will be located in Loyalist Township, Ontario, will produce cathode materials and cathode precursor materials.
Total investment of two billion US dollars
The Umicore factory will be built in phases and has a total estimated cost of about two billion US dollars. Canada is contributing about 400 million, while Ontario is investing an additional 300 million US dollars. The plant, which is said to be the first of its kind in North America, will initially create 600 jobs and have a production capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours of battery material per year.
Enough material for 800,000 electric vehicles per year
The entire project is said to have the potential to produce enough battery materials to support the manufacture of more than 800,000 electric vehicles per year. Canada is home to a major mining sector for minerals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt. The country is aiming to attract green technology companies at all stages of the electric vehicle supply chain.
