Volkswagen Group (XETRA:VOW) and battery company PowerCo plan to establish the first overseas gigafactory for battery cell manufacturing in St. Thomas, Ontario with production expected to begin in 2027.
This comes after Volkswagen inked a deal with the Canadian government in 2022 to identify possible sites for the factory. St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston said the plant will be the largest automotive industrial complex in Canada’s history.
The move is a game-changer for Ontario, according to the province’s economic development minister, Vic Fedeli.
”(It) is a stunning move, and I think acknowledged by Volkswagen that they felt they would want to be in the middle of this whole electric battery ecosystem that we’ve created in Ontario,” Fedeli was widely reported as saying.
For Volkswagen, Ontario offers an important local supply of raw materials and wide access to clean electricity.
“Canada and Ontario are perfect partners for scaling up our battery business and green economy jobs, as we share the same values of sustainability, responsibility and cooperation,” said Thomas Schmall, chairman of the supervisory board of PowerCo SE.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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