Canadian Design and Construction Report staff writer
A Norwegian company plans to invest $3.2 billion to build a synthetic graphite production facility in St. Thomas, a project expected to create up to 1,000 jobs and strengthen North America’s electric-vehicle supply chain.
Vianode announced Thursday that the facility, called Via TWO, will be located in the Yarmouth Yards Industrial Park. The site was selected following an extensive North American site selection process, with the city’s proximity to key automotive customers, access to Ontario’s clean electricity grid, a skilled regional workforce, and strong support from local and provincial authorities cited as factors in the decision.
“Today marks an important step towards a resilient North American battery supply chain,” Vianode CEO Burkhard Straube said. “Ontario and the city of St. Thomas have been strong partners from day one, and Via TWO will bring industrial-scale, low-emission graphite to market through a phased build-out that supports customers, communities and the clean-energy transition.”
The project will be developed in phases, with the first phase expected to produce 35,000 tonnes of synthetic graphite annually. Full capacity is planned at 150,000 tonnes, enough to supply material for about two million electric vehicles each year. The first phase is expected to employ roughly 300 workers, eventually growing to around 1,000 at full production.
The Ontario government is providing a loan of up to CAD 670 million to support construction.
“Today’s announcement is a historic milestone for southwestern Ontario and a major win for workers, creating good-paying manufacturing jobs today and for generations to come,” Premier Doug Ford said. “We’re proud to welcome Vianode to St. Thomas as we strengthen our province’s competitive advantage in a critical industry and build the most competitive, resilient, self-reliant economy in the G7.”
The plant will use Vianode’s proprietary synthetic graphite technology, which the company says reduces carbon emissions by up to 90 per cent compared with conventional production methods. Synthetic graphite is produced from petrochemical byproducts through a high-temperature process that requires significant energy input.
The site is part of a growing automotive and battery manufacturing cluster in the region, which includes Volkswagen’s PowerCo battery plant now under construction. Vianode also has supply agreements to provide synthetic graphite for General Motors’ EV battery production.
