Stellantis and LG Energy Solution choose Canada for battery plant

In October of last year, Stellantis NV announced it was creating a joint venture with LG Energy Solution (LGES) to manufacture batteries that will be used in Stellantis’s hybrid and fully-electric vehicles. The companies entered into the agreement hoping it will help Stellantis reach its goal of being over 40% electric by 2030. At the time, the announcement said the parties had not chosen a location for the manufacturing plant, but that groundbreaking on a facility would start in Q2 of 2022, and production of batteries would start in 2024.

Now, an inside source has said Stellantis and LGES have decided on building the plant in Windsor-Essex, which is located in southern Ontario, Canada. While the source asked to remain anonymous, he or she said Canada was chosen because of the country’s strong focus on clean and renewable energy.

Stellantis did not respond to inquiries, and an LGES spokesperson told reporters there was no information to share at this time. Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade, Vic Fedeli, did not comment on the specific plant but stated last week he is “confident the province will land at least one EV battery manufacturing plant before the election in June.”

Other sources such as Stellantis union Unifor 444’s president, Dave Cassidy, and Windsor-Tecumseh Member of Parliament Irek Kusmierczyk said they didn’t know specific details about a possible plant, but agreed it would be excellent for the area. 

Several sources have said a formal announcement will be made on March 23rd. However, it’s expected that the agreement will cost Stellantis and LG approximately $4 billion to build, and it will be a source of employment for as many as 3,000 workers. That would likely be in addition to the recently announced $1.5 billion investment into the Windsor Assembly Plant.

The agreement with LGES is not the first one Stellantis has made regarding the production of batteries, as the automaker also announced in October 2021 that it would be forming a joint venture with South Korea-based Samsung SDI to manufacture batteries in North America. Last week, the Korean Herald reported Stellantis and Samsung SDI had started construction of a new plant in the U.S. without stating where it is located, but Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-Ho said the exact location would be announced, “very soon.”

Stellantis’s partnerships are just some examples of automakers quickly teaming up with technology firms to create electric vehicle batteries, as automakers are in a hurry to ramp up production of hybrids and fully-electric vehicles to meet the goals they have set for the future. General Motors and Ford have also entered into agreements with LGES, and Tesla has maintained an ongoing partnership with Panasonic.

Ford also entered into a notable partnership with SK Innovation Co. last week, and the companies plan on spending $11.4 billion to build plants in Kentucky and Tennessee.

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