Dive Brief:
- Lithium-ion battery maker E-One Moli plans to build a 1 billion Canadian dollar ($730 million) battery cell facility in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, the company announced last month.
- The plant will produce batteries that will power various devices including electronics, power tools, medical devices, EVs and aerospace applications.
- The new facility will create up to 350 jobs and produce up to 135 million battery cells annually. Construction is expected to begin in June and fully operational in 2028.
Dive Insight:
E-One Moli is the latest battery manufacturer to establish a facility in Canada as the country seeks to grow its battery supply chain as well as transition to utilizing cleaner energy sources.
Canada’s federal government will allot up to CA$204.5 million toward the E-One Moli plant, funded through its Net Zero Accelerator initiative. The climate program helps the country to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 45% by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
The British Columbia government will contribute up to $80 million toward the Maple Ridge plant’s construction. The site will be the first lithium-ion battery cell facility in Western Canada and create a battery hub in the region’s supply chain, according to the province’s press release.
“As we secure a major clean battery manufacturing project in Maple Ridge, we build on that expertise to secure hundreds of middle-class jobs while fighting climate change,” Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement. “When we support projects like E-One Moli’s new facility in Maple Ridge, we bolster Canada’s role as a global clean tech leader, we create good jobs, and we help keep our air clean.”
Other EV and battery makers have been investing in Canada to grow their supply chain in North America. BMW secured a partnership with Umicore in October, which announced it will build a cathode active material plant in Ontario.
Swedish battery maker Northvolt announced in September it plans to build a $5 billion lithium-ion battery factory in Québec. And in April, Ford said it’s investing $1.3 billion to overhaul its Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario.
