CaDCR staff writer
The federal and Ontario governments are putting nearly $1 billion combined into an electric vehicle battery component plant in eastern Ontario.
The up to $2.8-billion Umicore facility in Loyalist Township will build cathode active materials and precursor cathode active materials.
Government ministers announced Monday that Ottawa will contribute $551.3 million toward the project and Ontario is set to spend up to $424.6 million in capital costs.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Umicore’s investment is a huge vote of confidence in Ontario.
“The plant is going to create 600 direct jobs and I always say in the auto sector, there’s seven spinoff jobs for every one job that we see here,” he said. “Right across the province it’s going to be multiples of thousands of jobs. In fact, that’s going to boost the economy and activity across (the) mining, auto, manufacturing sectors and the service sector as well.”
The envisioned project, with a total eligible cost envelope of up to $2.761 billion, is planned to be executed in multiple stages. Today, Umicore is announcing its firm investment decision for the first stage of $2.1 billion, of which $1.8 billion is capital expenditures, for a battery materials production capacity of 35 GWh annually. Production is set to begin in early 2026 and the facility is expected to produce enough battery materials to support 800,000 electric vehicles per year, Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said.
“Umicore’s investment in Loyalist Township will further integrate Eastern Ontario into the province’s thriving end-to-end electric vehicle supply chain. This new investment will create more well-paying jobs for workers in the region and across the province. Our job is far from over as we work to create the right conditions for businesses and workers to succeed. Thank you, Umicore, for reaffirming your trust in Ontario.”
The first of its kind in North America, Umicore’s facility will produce CAM and pCAM on a large industrial scale for EV and battery producers in Canada and the United States. In the project’s first stage, the company will create 600 new direct jobs, plus an additional 700 co-op positions for students will be created throughout the project, making Umicore one of the largest private employers in Eastern Ontario.
The full project has the potential to produce enough battery materials to support the production of over 800,000 EVs per year, utilizing Canadian critical minerals, including nickel, lithium and cobalt, and strengthening Canada’s and Ontario’s domestic EV supply chain and batteries ecosystem.
Umicore CEO Mathias Miedreich said it is the start of the company’s battery materials supply chain in North America.
“This plant will be unique, it will be a one of its kind because it will combine cathode active materials with precursors and that’s the first plant that will do that in North America,” he said.
Two electric vehicle battery plants are also in the works in Ontario — Volkswagen in St. Thomas and Stellantis LG in Windsor.
