Ford and partners pick Canada for $900 mln battery materials plant

Ecopro BM

17/08/2023 15:30

By Steve Scherer
       OTTAWA, Aug 17 (Reuters) - A consortium of Ford Motor Co
 F.N  and South Korean companies on Thursday said they would
build a C$1.2 billion ($887 million)plant to produce electric
vehicle (EVs) battery materials in Becancour, Quebec, which is
seeking to become an EV-supply-chain hub, Canada's industry
ministry said.
    The consortium includes South Korean partners EcoPro BM
 247540.KQ  and SK On Co Ltd, according to the statement. The
factory will eventually produce 45,000 tonnes of cathode active
materials (CAM) per year for Ford EVs. 
    Canada's federal government will provide the consortium with
a conditional loan of C$322 million and Quebec will offer the
same amount as a partially forgivable loan, the statement said.
Construction is expected to start in the first half of 2026 and
the plant will create more than 345 jobs.    
    This is the latest in a series of construction announcements
for Becancour, a town of fewer than 15,000 people on the St.
Lawrence River, which is shaping up to be an EV-supply-chain hub
in North America.
    Canada, home to a large mining sector for minerals including
lithium, nickel and cobalt, is trying to woo companies involved
in all levels of the EV supply chain via a multibillion-dollar
green technology fund as the world seeks to cut carbon
emissions. 
    "This is a big vote of confidence in the (EV) ecosystem
we've been building," Industry Minister Francois-Philippe
Champagne told Reuters. "This is very significant for Quebec,
because as you know the auto sector has been primarily investing
in Ontario, but now we have GM, now we have Ford in Becancour."
    In May, General Motors Co  GM.N  and South Korea's POSCO
Future M said they would increase production capacity at a
chemical battery materials facility whose construction was first
announced last year. Germany's BASF SE  BASFn.DE  is also
building a battery materials factory there.
    German automaker Volkswagen  VOWG_p.DE  and Stellantis
 STLAM.MI , the parent of brands including Fiat and Chrysler,
are building multi-billion-dollar battery plants west of Quebec
in Ontario, the heartland of Canada's fossil-fuel-powered car
industry that has historical trade and production links with the
Detroit carmakers.
    
($1 = 1.3525 Canadian dollars)

 (Reporting by Steve Scherer. Editing by Jane Merriman)
 ((steve.scherer@thomsonreuters.com; +1-647-480-7889;))