VOLKSWAGEN TO BUILD ITS FIRST NORTH AMERICAN GIGAFACTORY IN ONTARIO

By Anne Bourgoin

Six months after signing a memorandum of understanding with Canada regarding access to raw materials for battery production, Volkswagen subsidiary PowerCo has announced the construction of its plant.

This first-ever North American factory, which will be located in St. Thomas, Ontario by 2027, is considered by the brand to be its largest “gigafactory” to date. In its final expansion phase, it is expected to reach an annual production capacity of 90 GWh. PowerCo has planned an investment of C$7 billion, which will create nearly 3,000 highly skilled jobs and tens of thousands more indirectly in the region.

“North America plays a key role in our global battery strategy. The region will become the second pillar of PowerCo SE, next to Europe, with battery cells manufactured in North America for North America. [. . .] Our goal is to make PowerCo a global player in the battery business and to pave the way for clean and sustainable mobility,” emphasized Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology.

B.V. : From left to right: Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Kai-Alexander Müller, CFO PowerCo SE, Sebastian Wolf, COO PowerCo SE, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, Frank Blome, CEO PowerCo SE, Jörg Teichmann, Product Manager PowerCo SE, Soonho Ahn, CTO PowerCo SE