VW’s PowerCo has started work on a Cdn $7B battery plant in St. Thomas, Ontario.
The facility will produce 90 GWh of batteries per year by 2027 for North American EVs.
The project is Canada’s largest auto investment and will employ up to 3,000 people.
Volkswagen Group has begun construction on its Cdn $7-billion battery cell factory in St. Thomas, Ontario, moving forward with the project despite market uncertainty and ongoing trade tensions between Canada and the United States.
The automaker’s battery division, PowerCo, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 28, though construction crews had already started foundation work earlier in the month. The plant is scheduled to begin battery production in 2027.
Volkswagen PowerCo Ontario Battery Plant Finishes First Phase
The St. Thomas facility will be the third in PowerCo’s portfolio, following earlier sites in Germany and Spain, and will become the largest factory in Canada once complete. PowerCo expects the plant to produce up to 90 gigawatt-hours of battery cells annually, which is enough to power approximately one million electric vehicles.
The initial construction phase will include about 500,000 square feet (50,000 square metres) of formwork and more than 32,000 cubic metres of concrete. PowerCo estimates the facility will employ 1,000 staff at production launch, scaling up to 3,000 as the buildout continues.
The Canadian plant will supply battery cells to VW’s Scout Motors assembly site in South Carolina, as well as other North American manufacturing operations.
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Top Volkswagen executives approved the greenfield site in March 2023 following more than two years of planning. In August, PowerCo awarded major construction packages to local contractors and began hiring for hundreds of positions.
The project continues despite the challenging environment for the EV sector in Canada. Last week, General Motors cancelled the BrightDrop EV program at its CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, and two battery material projects in Quebec were indefinitely delayed.
VW executives have acknowledged the potential for delays if EV demand does not improve, but have confirmed the production timeline for the St. Thomas facility remains fixed for 2027.
Source: Automotive News
