Belgium-Based Umicore Plans Ontario, Canada, Battery Materials Facility
07/20/2022
The investment represents the final step in establishing a truly global production presence with battery material value chains that are regionally fully integrated to support its customers in their fast transformation towards sustainable electric mobility, according to company officials. Construction is planned for 2023 and operations for the end of 2025 with the potential to reach by the end of the decade an annual production capacity capable of powering approximately one million EVs.
“Canada and the Ontario province have all it takes for Umicore to establish a full-fledged, sustainable supply chain for battery materials, all the way from the mine right to the end-market of electric vehicles,” Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Umicore said. “Once the key customer contracts are in place, this expansion in North America would complete our global rollout of regional supply chains for our automotive and battery cell customers to now three continents.”
The planned facility would be the first of its kind in North America, combining cathode and precursor materials manufacturing at a large industrial scale and thereby completing the missing link in Canada’s battery value chain, from natural resources to electric mobility.
“Canada is leading the world when it comes to the jobs of the future in the low carbon economy. Today’s announcement with Umicore builds on recent investments that our government has made to build a thriving EV battery supply chain in Canada. We’re ensuring a strong and resilient economy, while also creating tens of thousands of well-paying jobs right across the country,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
Umicore and the Government of Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding to finalize the support application of the project under the Strategic Innovation Fund. The MoU follows a recently signed agreement with Loyalist Township to secure a plot of land of about 350 acres.
“Today is another perfect example that our plan to rebuild Ontario’s auto industry is gaining speed and will deliver huge wins for communities,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Ontario has everything it needs, up and down our homegrown supply chain, to remain and strengthen its position as a North American auto manufacturing powerhouse. Umicore plans to bring this part of the EV supply chain to Ontario which will continue to transform our auto sector and create good jobs.”
Umicore will also explore opportunities for metals refining and battery recycling in North America, to offer its customers in the region secure and circular access to critical battery materials and, in line with its earlier announced ambition to establish a regional presence in North America, across the CAM value chain.
“This important investment by Umicore will turn Ontario into a North American leader in this high-value segment of the EV supply chain and further connect Northern Ontario’s mineral sector to EV manufacturing in the south,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “With recent success attracting major investments to the province, our government is staking Ontario's claim to developing and building the batteries that will power vehicles of the future.”
Today, Umicore serves its battery materials customers in Europe through its cathode precursor and cobalt refining plant in Kokkola, Finland, and its battery materials plant in Nysa, Poland, which is the continent’s first industrial-scale cathode materials plant. In Asia, Umicore serves its customers from its plants in Jiangmen, China, and Cheonan, Korea.
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