Umicore establishes a plant for cathode active materials and precursors for power batteries in Ontario, Canada.
On October 19, Umicore announced the construction of a 35GWh battery materials production plant in Ontario to serve the North American electric vehicle (EV) battery market.
Fill the missing link
Umicore’s facility will combine the production of precursors (pCAM) and cathode active materials (CAM) to fill the missing link in the North American EV battery value chain, from natural resources to EVs.
The investment is part of Umicore’s previously announced plans. By 2026, the investment will amount to EUR 1.27 billion.
The plant will be fully capable of producing state-of-the-art high-nickel technology and ready for future battery chemistry process development, including manganese-rich HLM (lithium-rich manganese-based) and solid-state batteries.
Government support
Given the plant’s importance to North America’s EV supply chain and strengthening the EV battery ecosystem, Umicore will receive significant financial support from the government for this critical project.
Canada provides all the necessary conditions for Umicore to establish a sustainable supply chain for battery materials in North America.
Located approximately 25 kilometres from Kingston, the plant will be at the heart of Canada’s automotive technology cluster, with significant advantages in terms of proximity to customers, a highly skilled workforce, critical infrastructure and renewable energy.
Umicore reached a definitive agreement with the government on its direct financial support.
The government will strongly support the project as the battery materials plant will ensure that Canada and Ontario lead North America in the high-value segment of the electric vehicle supply chain.
