First of its kind in North America

The government of Canada and the province of Ontario have announced they will be investing C$1 billion into a unit of Umicore’s battery plant, Ottawa.

The plant will manufacture cathode active materials (CAM) and precursor active materials (pCAM), which are critical components for EV batteries. It is the first of its kind in North America.

The Government of Canada is offering an investment of up to C$551.3 million, and the Government of Ontario is investing up to C$424.6 million.

The Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario said: "Umicore's investment represents another strong vote of confidence in our rapidly growing electric vehicle and battery supply chain. Together, with our government, industry and labour partners, we're putting our auto sector back on the map, attracting billions of dollars in new investments, creating thousands of good-paying jobs and ensuring the cars of the future will be made in Ontario, from start to finish."

Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Umicore said: "Umicore is proud of, and delighted with, the unwavering support and financial backing of Canada and Ontario. Their readiness to co-fund our investment coupled with the announcement of our first customer contract for the Loyalist plant mean we can forge ahead with the construction. We are committed to being a reliable transformation partner for the automotive and battery industry and a trustworthy neighbor for communities in Ontario."

In the project's first stage, the company says it will employ 600 people, with an additional 700 co-op positions for students will be created throughout the project. This will make Umicore one of the largest private employers in Eastern Ontario.

The full project has the potential to produce enough battery materials to support the production of over 800,000 EVs per year.