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Ford Motor Co. is building a new cathode plant in Canada in cooperation with the government of Quebec, Ottawa. The automaker is investing through its consortium that includes EcoProBM and SK on.
The consortium of Ford Motor and South Korean firms announced on Thursday, Aug. 17, that they will put up a new plant for the production of electric vehicle battery materials. The construction of the facility costs C$1.2 billion or about $887 million, and it will soon rise in Becancour, Quebec.
As per Reuters, Ford said that the EV materials to be produced in the upcoming factory are high-quality Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM), which are commonly used for rechargeable batteries. These are designed to offer greater performance and improved EV range.
Ford Motor, SK On, and EcoProBM said they are investing in building a cathode facility that will provide materials that will ultimately be supplied to Ford’s future EV models. The target date for the start of production is within the first half of 2026, and by this time, the plant will already have the capacity to churn out up to 45,000 tonnes of Cathode Active Materials (CAM) per year.
The facility will allow Ford Motor to localize the processing of key battery raw materials in a region where it currently manufactures EVs. For its part, the local government of Quebec will also invest $644 million for the construction of the Michigan-based automaker’s plant in Bécancour.
“Ford has been serving customers in Canada for 119 years, longer than any other automaker, and we’re excited to invest in this new facility to create a vertically integrated, closed-loop battery manufacturing supply chain in North America designed to help make electric vehicles more accessible for millions of people over time,” Ford Motor Canada’s president and CEO, Bev Goodman, said in a press release. “We are excited for the opportunity for our first-ever investment in Québec with a new facility that will help shape the EV ecosystem there.”
Photo by: Ford Motor Media Center
