Stellantis and LG Energy Solution on Wednesday announced a Canadian joint-venture battery plant to support future EV production.
To be located in Windsor, Ontario, the $5 billion Canadian ($4.1 billion United States dollar) battery plant is scheduled to be up and running by the first quarter of 2024, making it the first large-scale EV battery manufacturing facility in Canada.
The plant will have an annual production capacity of 45 gigawatt-hours. While this is the first major North American battery manufacturing investment by Stellantis, LG Energy Solution is already working with rival General Motors on four joint-venture battery plants in the U.S. Stellantis on Wednesday also said it plans to build a battery plant in the U.S.. This plant may be built in partnership with Samsung SDI, which has been working with Stellantis since last fall.
STLA Large platform - Stellantis EVs
Stellantis is also working with Mercedes-Benz to produce batteries in Italy through the Automotive Cells Company (ACC) company. ACC was formed in 2020 by Stellantis predecessor PSA Group and French oil giant TotalEnergies, and also includes Mercedes as an equal partner.
While not a collaborative effort, Stellantis and Mercedes have also invested in U.S. solid-state battery startup Factorial Energy. Factorial claims it will achieve a 50% range improvement with its battery tech, and similar claims have led other automakers to invest in solid-state battery firms or launch in-house development programs.
Stellantis is in the midst of a major EV push centered on four modular platforms. Among the many new EVs promised so far are an electric Dodge muscle car, electric Ram pickup truck, and a lineup of electric Jeep SUVs starting with a subcompact due in 2023 (shown main). The automaker hopes to take most of its brands down the full-electric route by the end of the decade, including Maserati, Chrysler, and Alfa Romeo. To do that, Stellantis will need a lot of batteries.