Ontario EV battery parts plant getting $1B from feds, province

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An eastern Ontario electric vehicle battery component plant is getting nearly $1 billion in funding from the federal and Ontario governments.

The Umicore facility in Loyalist Township, northwest of Kingston, will build cathode active materials and precursor cathode active materials.

Government ministers in Ottawa announced it is set to put $551.3 million toward the project and Ontario is set to spend up to $424.6 million in capital costs for the facility that will cost upwards of about $2.76 billion.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Umicore’s investment is a vote of confidence in Ontario.

“The plant is going to create 600 direct jobs and I always say in the auto sector, there’s seven spinoff jobs for every one job that we see here,” he said, according to the Canadian Press.

“Right across the province, it’s going to be multiples of thousands of jobs. In fact, that’s going to boost the economy and activity across (the) mining, auto, manufacturing sectors and the service sector as well.”

Belgium-based Umicore facility will bring great economic benefits to Ontario and strengthen Canada’s position as the “green supplier of choice,” said federal Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.

“It’s about jobs, it’s about growth, it’s about opportunities and we are really together building Ontario as an economic powerhouse,” he said.

Production is set to begin in early 2026 and the facility is expected to produce enough battery materials to support 800,000 electric vehicles per year, Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said.