'We bagged a unicorn': New EV battery manufacturing plant announced for Windsor
Windsor will be home to the first electric vehicle battery manufacturing operation in Canada, the nearly $5-billion joint venture is expected to create an estimated 2,500 jobs for the area.
A number of politicians and business leaders were in Windsor for the big announcement Wednesday that Stellantis and LG Energy Solution have executed “binding, definitive agreements” to establish an electric vehicle battery plant which will produce lithium-ion battery cells and modules in the region.
“We are the automotive capital of Canada. We are claiming the title of the automobility capital of Canada,” Mayor Drew Dilkens said.
The batteries will initially supply all of Stellantis’ North American electric vehicles.
“The cars of the future will be built in Ontario from start to finish,” Premier Doug Ford said.
Stellantis and LG Energy expect the plant will serve as a catalyst for the creation of a strong battery supply chain in the region.
“It’s one of these things that every community would like to get. Today, we bagged a unicorn,” Dilkens said.
The plant aims to have an annual production capacity of more than 35 gigawatt hours and will create an estimated 2,500 new jobs for the Windsor-Essex region.
But it’s the accompanying supply chain that is expected to put tens of thousands more to work.
“We’re the only place in the Western Hemisphere that has everything you need, not only to build an EV battery, but to build electric vehicles. The complete supply chain, the full ecosystem. That’s what makes it so historic,” Fedeli said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.
The House is on the brink of approving aid for Ukraine and Israel after months of struggle
The House is preparing in a rare Saturday session to approve US$95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.