PowerCo (Volkswagen battery company) will build gigafactory in Ontario, Canada
The planned investment of up to €4.8 billion until 2030 has the potential to create up to 3,000 highly skilled jobs at the factory and tens of thousands more indirect jobs in the region. It’s a win for workers, for the community, and for the economy”, stated Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Volkswagen Group newly-created battery company PowerCo (here’s a post about the gigafactory announced in Salzgitter, Germany) aims to build its largest gigafactory to date in St. Thomas, Ontario (Canada) with an annual production capacity of up to 90 GWh in the final expansion phase. The planned investment of up to €4.8 billion until 2030 has the potential to create up to 3,000 highly skilled jobs at the factory and tens of thousands more indirect jobs in the region.
St. Thomas is the company’s first overseas gigafactory for cell manufacturing and will equip the Group brands’ BEVs in the North American region with cutting-edge unified cells, a whole new cell technology designed for volume production. Groundbreaking is planned for 2024 and production is projected to begin in 2027. The cell factory is part of a larger plan that Volkswagen and PowerCo agreed upon with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government in August last year.
Statements from PowerCo and the Prime Minister of Canada
“When we talk about our made-in-Canada plan, we’re talking about creating good, middle-class jobs now and into the future, we’re talking about clean air for our kids and grandkids, and we’re talking about a strong economy that works for all Canadians. That’s what Volkswagen’s new electric vehicle battery plant in St. Thomas – the largest manufacturing plant in the country once built – is all about. It’s a win for workers, for the community, and for the economy”, stated Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“North America plays a key role in our global battery strategy. The region will become PowerCo SE’s second pillar beside Europe, with battery cells made in North America for North America. Gigafactory St. Thomas opens the door to a key market for e-mobility and battery cell production. We aim to make PowerCo a global player in the battery business and to pave the way for clean, sustainable mobility. Gigafactory St. Thomas is an important milestone in our roadmap”, added Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology.
