Stellantis, who are a global mobility player made up of 14 motor brands including Vauxhall, Peugeot, Fiat, Citroën and Jeep, has announced they are partnering with LG Energy Solution (LGES) to establish the first large scale, domestic, electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Canada.
The joint venture company will produce lithium-ion battery cells and modules. These will be used to meet a significant portion of Stellantis’ vehicle production requirements in North America.
The joint venture company will invest over $5 billion CAD ($4.1 billion/£3.1 billion/€3.7 billion) to establish operations, which will include an all-new battery manufacturing plant located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Plant construction activities are scheduled to begin later this year with production operations planned to launch in the first quarter of 2024.
The plant aims to have an annual production capacity in excess of 45 gigawatt hours (GWh) and will create an estimated 2,500 new jobs in Windsor and the surrounding areas.
Canada is committed to establishing a broad, local battery ecosystem by leveraging, among other things, its leadership in the generation of electricity from renewable sources.
Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO, said: “Our joint venture with LG Energy Solution is yet another stepping stone to achieving our aggressive electrification roadmap in the region aimed at hitting 50 percent of battery electric vehicle sales in the US and Canada by the end of the decade.”
Youngsoo Kwon, LG Energy Solution CEO, said: “Through this joint venture, LG Energy Solution will be able to position itself as a critical player in building green energy value chains in the region.
“Creating a joint venture battery manufacturing company in Canada, recognised as one of the leading nations in renewable energy resources, is key for LG Energy Solution as we aim to power more electric vehicles around the world.”
The Rt Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, said: “Today’s announcement of a world leading facility to build electric vehicle batteries in Windsor is an investment in our workers, our communities and our future.
“Partnerships like these are critical to creating new jobs and putting Canada on the cutting edge of the clean economy. By working together, we are creating thousands of new jobs, making a difference in the lives of people now and making sure that future generations have a clean environment to live in.”
As part of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Stellantis announced plans to have global annual battery electric vehicle sales of five million vehicles by 2030, reaching 100 percent of passenger car battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales mix in Europe and 50 percent passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in North America.
Stellantis also increased planned battery capacity by 140GWh to approximately 400GWh, to be supported by five battery manufacturing plants together with additional supply contracts.
LG Energy Solution, with this latest announcement, has now solidly secured production capacity of over 200GWh in North America annually, translating into production of 2.5 million high performance electric vehicles.
Globally, LGES is on course to expand its international production network in multiple continents, including countries such as Canada, US, Poland, Indonesia, China and South Korea.
