On July 13, Umicore revealed that it will be investing $1.5 billion in an electric vehicle (EV) battery materials manufacturing plant in Loyalist Township in eastern Ontario, further bolstering the province’s bid on developing a vertically integrated EV supply chain. The Belgian multinational’s plant will manufacture cathode active materials and precursor cathode active materials.

Cathodes make up roughly half of the value of EV batteries, containing critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium. At full production, the plant is expected to produce enough cathode materials to provide batteries for one million vehicles per year. According to current estimates, this would mean contributing to nearly 20 per cent of North American EV production by the end of the decade.

“This giga factory will be the first of its kind in North America, because it’s going the full way,” said Umicore CEO Mathias Miedreich.  “It’s not only doing the end product, which is the cathode material. It’s integrated, as we say, from mine to battery, including all the upscale steps.” Umicore is considering not only refining, but also recycling activities for the plant down the road, to close the supply chain loop.

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The plant will be running on renewable energy from the start, which was one of the criteria the company was looking for in selecting a location — along with the availability of resources and talent. “Investments recently in greener steel, in a grid that is already over 80 per cent renewable for energy and electricity: these are things that are drawing [attention] and comparing very favourably to other jurisdictions around the world,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the press conference, commenting on the government’s efforts in attracting such investments.

Construction for the plant 350-acre plant is targeted to begin in 2023, with operations projected to kick off by the end of 2025. The new plant will further connect the mineral sector in northern Ontario to the EV manufacturing capacity in the south. Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli will be travelling to Belgium next week to link Umicore with key local, regional and provincial suppliers.

Minister Fedeli anticipates that mineral production in the province will need further support to meet the ever-growing critical minerals demand from the EV sector, including Umicore’s. “None of this is going to happen overnight. We need to develop our critical minerals,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to do. That’s why we’ve developed our critical minerals strategy and why we're meeting with mining companies, producers, everybody that we can. Because we all understand just how important this is.”