Construction begins on Canadian built EV battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont.

German based electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer PowerCo has begun construction on a new manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ont.

This will be the company’s third plant worldwide and the largest EV battery manufacturing plant in Canada.

PowerCo says the construction of the southwestern Ontario plant will be done by Magil Construction Canada Inc. – a Canadian construction company.

The steel erection for the plant is expected to begin by the end of the year and be provided by Steelcon which is based in Ontario.

PowerCo says they are in need of thousands of workers and have already received more than 100 applications since the hiring campaign began in August.

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It says they are using “transit, billboard and social media ads aimed at attracting top-tier local talent for the thousands of jobs the plant will create.”

Premier Doug Ford is applauding the move.

“PowerCo’s once-in-a-generation investment is proof we have everything we need right here to build the most competitive economy in the G7,” Ford says.

“With construction underway, we are already seeing the benefits with good-paying jobs for local workers, contracts for Ontario companies, and an even stronger position for our province in the global EV market.”

This comes following the closure of General Motors’ (GM) electric delivery van assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont.

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