Umicore building new EV battery materials plant in Ontario

Circular material technology developer Umicore Rechargeable Battery Materials Canada is investing $2.761 billion to build a new manufacturing plant in Loyalist Township, Ontario, that will manufacture cathode active materials (CAM) and precursor cathode active materials (pCAM), critical components for producing electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Umicore has announced its 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.

Based on the full scope of the envisioned project, the Government of Canada is supporting Umicore’s project through an investment of up to $551.3 million. The Government of Ontario is supporting the investment with up to $424.6 million.

“Umicore is proud of, and delighted with, the unwavering support and financial backing of Canada and Ontario,” Umicore CEO Mathias Miedreich said in a statement. “Their readiness to co-fund our investment coupled with the announcement of our first customer contract for the Loyalist plant mean we can forge ahead with the construction. We are committed to being a reliable transformation partner for the automotive and battery industry and a trustworthy neighbour for communities in Ontario.”

Umicore’s facility will produce CAM and pCAM on a large industrial scale for EV and battery producers in Canada and the U.S. 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.

“Canada has everything it needs to be a global leader in the green economy: access to global markets, a talented workforce, clean energy, world-leading innovation ecosystems and all the critical mineral resources necessary to make EV batteries,” said The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “This is the reason why Umicore has chosen Canada and Loyalist Township as the place to build its new electric vehicle battery materials plant, one that will produce green battery components. This project will bring great economic benefits to Ontario and create well-paying jobs for Canadians, and it is strengthening Canada’s position as the green supplier of choice.”

The full project has the potential to produce enough battery materials to support the production of over 800,000 EVs per year, Umicore officials, said, utilizing Canadian critical minerals, including nickel, lithium and cobalt, and strengthening Canada’s and Ontario’s domestic EV supply chain and batteries ecosystem.