Stellantis and LG Energy announce new 45 GWh battery cell factory in Canada

Stellantis and LG Energy announce that they will together build a new 45 GWh battery cell factory in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

After being regarded as a laggard in the electrification of the auto industry, Stellantis is now trying to accelerate its EV plans with some important investments in electric vehicles.

CEO Carlos Tavares has made clear that the group is moving reluctantly toward all-electric vehicles, but it is moving nonetheless.

And if you want to make electric vehicles in large volumes, you first need to secure battery cell supply, and this is what this new announcement is about.

Stellantis and LG Energy announced that they have agreed to invest over $5 billion CAD ($4.1 billion USD) into a new joint venture that will build a new battery factory in Windsor, Ontario:

The joint venture company will invest over $5 billion CAD ($4.1 billion USD) 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.

They are aiming for a production capacity of 45 GWh of batteries per year.

Stellantis didn’t specify in what vehicles those batteries will end up, but it did say that it will supply “a significant portion of Stellantis’ vehicle production requirements in North America.”

The automaker happens to have a factory already in Windsor where it produces Chrysler minivans (Chrysler Pacifica, Voyager, and Grand Caravan).

Tavares commented on the new announcement:

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% of battery electric vehicle sales in the US and Canada by the end of the decade. We are grateful to the Municipal, Provincial and Federal levels of government for their support and commitment to help position Canada as a North American leader in the production of electric vehicle batteries.

Based on the timeline, this new factory could become the first large-scale (gigafactory) battery cell factory in Canada.

Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, commented on the announcement:

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.

This new investment also completes a busy week in North America for LG Energy, which also recently announced an expansion of its battery production in Michigan, and it is eyeing a new factory in Arizona.