Ford plans $1.2-billion EV battery materials plant in Quebec

Ford Motor Co. will join rival General Motors in turning to a small city in central Quebec to produce cathode active material for electric vehicle batteries.

The U.S. automaker, along with partners EcoPro BM Co. and SK On Co. announced plans Aug. 17 to build a more than $1.2 billion battery materials plant in Bécancour, midway between Montreal and Quebec City.

Ford’s first-ever investment in Quebec will produce material destined for use in Ford EVs, including some of its future pickups, according to Lisa Drake, vice-president of EV Industrialization for Ford Model e.

“This facility is a cornerstone for Ford Motor Co. in all of North America. That’s how important this plant is to us,” she said in Bécancour.

Drake joined Ford Canada President Bev Goodman, executives from EcoPro and SK On, as well as top federal and provincial government officials at the announcement.  

“We’re excited to build 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,” Goodman said in a release.

François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry, said the investment will strengthen Canada’s battery ecosystem and serve as a key part of the battery supply chain Ford and SK On are building in North America.   

“I know this is a strategic investment because this plant needs to work for all your other plants to work.” 

Ford and SK On broke ground on two joint battery cell campuses in the U.S. South last year. The sprawling sites in Glendale, Ky. and Stanton, Tenn., are scheduled to begin production in 2025.  

North of the border, the three-party investment is the latest in a series of battery supply chain projects to land in Quebec, a province that has typically played second fiddle to neighbouring Ontario on automotive spending. Quebec Premier François Legault said the commitment from Ford and its partners is “laying the foundations” for the province to become a leader in North America’s green economy.

The federal and provincial governments will pay approximately half of the upfront project costs. Ottawa has committed to a conditional loan of $322 million through its Strategic Innovation Fund, while Quebec will provide a partially forgivable loan of $322 million through Investissement Québec.

PLANT TO OPEN IN 2026

The new plant, which will be known officially as EcoPro CAM Canada, is scheduled to open in the first half of 2026. It will have capacity to produce an average of 45,000 tonnes of cathode active materials (CAM) annually and employ more than 345, according to Ottawa.

CAM is an integral part of lithium ion battery chemistry used for the positive electrode in battery cells. In most EV batteries today, it’s a blend of lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese.

The investment by Ford and the two South Korea-based battery technology companies has been in the works for more than a year. In July 2022, the three companies announced plans for a joint investment at an undetermined location in North America. And in February, EcoPro formed a pair of Canadian subsidiaries as talks with the federal and provincial governments progressed.

Construction in Bécancour has already begun. The plant will eventually rise to six storeys and cover about three million square-feet (280,000 square-metres). 

EcoPro, the lead partner on the project, will oversee day-to-day operations at the site once it opens. The Bécancour facility will be the company’s first plant in North America, and second outside Asia. 

The $1.2 billion investment is also the latest in a series of big battery supply chain projects to take root in Bécancour. 

Last year, GM and South Korea-based Posco Future M began construction on a separate CAM plant in the city on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, while German chemical company BASF purchased land for a similar endeavour. 

Further upstream, a range of battery mineral miners and processing companies are pursuing projects that would supply the Ford and GM plants with lithium, nickel and other key battery ingredients. Among others, mining giant Vale is studying construction of a nickel sulfate refinery, while homegrown Quebec miner Nemaska Lithium is advancing work on a lithium hydroxide plant.