Quebec, Ottawa Pledge $300 Million for GM Electric Car Battery Component Plant

Innovation, Science, and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne responds to a question during Question Period in Ottawa on Nov. 16, 2022. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

The governments of Quebec and Canada are announcing $300 million in funding for a factory that will make components for electric vehicle batteries in Bécancour, Que., located about halfway between Montreal and Quebec City.

The $600-million factory, a joint project between automaker General Motors and South Korean industrial materials maker POSCO Future M, was first announced by the companies last year.

The factory will manufacture cathode-active materials, a key component of lithium-ion batteries found in electric cars, and is expected to employ around 200 people when it opens in 2025.

Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters in Bécancour that his government is lending the companies $152 million and that $132 million will be forgiven if the factory maintains those jobs for 10 years.

He says the project is part of a larger green energy transition corridor that includes Bécancour and the nearby cities of Trois-Rivières and Shawinigan, which are home to a number of companies and research institutions doing work related to electric vehicles.

Federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters the federal government will provide a “contribution” of up to $147 million, but did not specify the nature of the funding.