Latest news with #EVbattery
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Electra Battery Materials gears up to restart construction on stalled Ontario cobalt plant
Electra Battery Materials Corp. is positioning itself to restart construction on its stalled cobalt sulfate refinery in Temiskaming Shores, Ont. The company said June 19 that it will invest $750,000 on an early works program this summer that includes equipment installations and concrete work critical to advancing the project after a two-year delay. Electra CEO Trent Mell said the preliminary set of projects lay the 'physical and operational groundwork to accelerate into full construction. 'We are confident in our project and its strategic importance. Preparing for the final leg of construction is a reaffirmation of our commitment to delivering North America's only battery-grade cobalt refinery,' Mell said in a release. Sign up for Automotive News Canada Breaking Alerts and be the first to know when big news breaks in the Canadian auto industry. The summer work schedule follows a $200,000 investment in septic, power and lighting systems at the plant earlier this year, the company said. Electra's fully permitted site about 500 kilometres north of Toronto has sat largely idle since May 2023, when the company halted work because of cost overruns, equipment delays and tightening finances. It is far from the only Canadian electric-vehicle battery supply chain project facing an uphill climb as EV demand falls short of expectations. Electra estimates it will need about US $60 million to complete the refinery that will produce cobalt sulfate, a key ingredient in most of the EV batteries in use in North America today. After securing funding commitments from an unnamed strategic investor and both the Canadian and U.S. governments totaling $54 million, Electra is just $6 million short of that target. It continues to work on solutions to fill the 'remaining gap,' said Heather Smiles, company vice-president of investor relations and corporate development, in an email. The company provided no details on other possible funding sources, but said it expects to raise the additional funds needed to finish construction and begin production at the plant. If completed, the plant will be the only one of its kind in North America and one of a select few outside China. From the outset of work on the refinery in 2021, Electra has maintained that demand for cobalt sulfate produced in North America remains high. The company signed an offtake agreement in 2022 with battery-cell maker LG Energy Solution that accounts for 80 per cent of the site's production capacity of 6,500 tonnes annually. Smiles said the early works package undertaken this summer will allow full-scale construction to resume on the refinery within a few months of the company securing the necessary financing. She would not say how long the plant would take to complete once work resumes.
South China Morning Post
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
China's largest EV battery maker CATL celebrates strong debut at Hong Kong stock market
Read more here: The world's largest initial public offering (IPO) of the year got off to a sizzling start on May 20, 2025, with shares of China's largest EV battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), trading at 12.5 per cent above the offer price of HK$263. The stock, which surged to HK$307.60 at the local noon trading break, raised HK$35.7 billion (US$4.6 billion) and propelled the Hong Kong stock market to the second spot in global rankings. CATL founder and chairman Robin Zeng Yuqun was on hand to mark the start of trading on his company's debut at the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
UAW: Stellantis has scrapped plans for battery plant, parts hub in Belvidere
BELVIDERE, Ill. (WTVO) — Stellantis has scrapped plans for an EV battery plant and parts distribution hub in Belvidere, according to the United Auto Workers union Vice President Kevin Gotinsky. On Tuesday, Gotinksy told that the battery plant and parts hub were no longer part of Stellantis' plan for the Belvidere Assembly Plant. The plant has sat idle since 2023. That fall, Stellantis announced it would invest nearly $5 billion in the factory, including an electric vehicle battery plant and a parts distribution hub. The project was in federal funding announced by the Biden administration to help Stellantis convert the Belvidere plant to build electric vehicles. Stellantis said the state had purchased 170 acres of land next to the plant for the factory, which was to be a joint venture with an unannounced business partner. It was expected to launch in 2028. The company cited 'market conditions' for its delay in reopening the plant, as demand for EVs slowed. In January, UAW President Shawn Fain announced the plant would reopen in 2027, putting 1,500 union members back to work. In March, United Auto Workers Local 1268 President Matt Frantzen said the Belvidere Assembly Plant would operate in two shifts once it comes back online, with the company looking to recall Skilled Trades workers in the 1st quarter of 2026, Team Leaders in the 4th quarter, and Team Members in the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2027. In a letter to union members in March, Frantzen said the promised Mopar Mega Hub and battery plant, part of the original union contract, were not included at that stage. In April, Stellantis said it was the Belvidere Assembly Plant in 2027, with production of a midsize pickup truck, but it is unknown whether its drive train would be electric or internal combustion. When asked for a statement on Gotinksy's comments, a Stellantis spokesperson replied, 'Stellantis has no updates to share at this time on the MegaHub or the battery plant.' Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares announced his exit in December, with the embattled executive handing the reins to chairman John Elkann while efforts were undertaken to find his replacement. Antonio Filosa, the company's chief operating officer for the Americas, has emerged as a. News of the battery plant cancellation comes as a setback in Illinois' objectives to become an electric vehicle manufacturing and supply hub. Gov. JB Pritzker of having 1 million EVs on Illinois roads by 2030, and introduced a Reimagining Electric Vehicles Act (later renamed the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles Act), which incentivized manufacturers to move to the state. Lion Electric, which opened a plant in Joliet to build electric school buses, recently . The state recently pledged $16 million to help EV maker Rivian open a near its headquarters in Normal. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
