U.S. automotive giant General Motors (GM) and South Korea’s Posco Chemical have announced plans to build a plant in Quebec that will produce the materials needed for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
The companies said the new facility, to be based in Becancour, Quebec, will cost $400 million U.S. It will produce cathode active materials (CAM) for GM’s Ultium EV batteries and will be a standalone factory.
The materials developed in Quebec will be moved to Ultium plants in the U.S. where the battery cells will then be made by General Motors and Posco Chemical.
General Motors said in a news release that CAM consists of processed nickel, lithium and other materials, and will ultimately help power electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Hummer EV.
CAM represents almost 40% of the cost of every electric vehicle battery. Site preparation and construction are scheduled to begin immediately and will create around 200 jobs in Quebec.
The Quebec announcement comes after GM and Posco agreed to form a CAM processing joint venture last December and build a factory in North America.
The companies say the site will be built to allow for future expansion. Quebec was chosen for the site of the new facility because of several advantages, including low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and an abundance of low-cost hydro electricity.
General Motors is gearing up to launch Canada’s first fully electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Ingersoll, Ontario later this year.