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A $1-billion lithium-ion battery cell production plant that was planned for Maple Ridge, B.C., has been shelved.
The parent company, Taiwan Cement Corp., announced construction of the Canadian plant with much fanfare last year, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby attending and promising a combined $284.5 million in government funding.
Taiwan Cement Corp. company chairman Nelson Chang is quoted in a release saying construction has stopped in order to focus on Taiwanese production, in step with other battery makers suspending similar projects across North America.
The statement from Chang says it will be "very difficult" for the company to build new plants abroad before achieving full efficiency at its Taiwanese facility.
The B.C. government had previously promised to contribute $80 million toward the facility, while the federal government pledged $204.5 million as part of Ottawa's strategy on securing key battery manufacturing facilities.
A spokeswoman from the office of Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne says they've heard from the company about the decision to halt the B.C. plant, adding that none of Ottawa's pledged funds had been dispersed.
"We are aware of the plans to halt expansion of the E-One Moli facility in Maple Ridge, B.C.," the statement says. "We are keeping a close eye on the situation."
The statement also says the existing research and development operations at the site for material and cell-chemistry development will be maintained.
E-One Moli's existing facility has been operating in Maple Ridge since 1990, and it had been estimated that expanding the plant would create 350 new permanent jobs in addition to safeguarding the 100 positions currently at the site.
The company's offices in B.C. and in Taiwan have not responded to requests for comment on the development.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2024.
Comments
This is not an end, but an opportunity for BC and the federal government step it up and fill the gap with Canadian batteries made for Canadian use.
It is an opportunity for research and development of advanced battery chemistries that will compete well with Chinese batteries in future. China is now positioned to become the world leader in renewable energy t
...technology. Canada could up its game in innovation to develop batteries with great energy density and cold weather performance.
BC Hydro could be instructed to work with this company to build very large battery storage facilities for the provincial grid, and to export them to other provinces if the US follows through with their tariff games of idiocy. And there are big export markets in Europe and democratic Asia.
This is an opportunity to break the Canadian cycle of extraction economics and placing more faith in foreign players to innovate when we are perfectly capable of doing our own.