The city of Maple Ridge in Metro Vancouver will host what is set to become the largest factory in Canada for high-performance lithium-ion battery cells. The facility is expected to produce up to 135 million battery cells per year.
Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, British Columbia Premier David Eby and the Mayor of Maple Ridge Dan Ruimy announced the $1 billion facility. It will be built by the Taiwanese battery cell manufacturer E-One Moli Energy, owned by Taiwan Cement Group.
The federal government will contribute around C$204.5 million through the Net Zero Accelerator Initiative, which aims to support companies in reaching their greenhouse gas emission targets. British Columbia will contribute C$80 million to the construction of the facility.
E-One Moli Energy (Canada) Ltd. will oversee the construction of the new manufacturing facility, set to begin in June 2024 and be fully operational by 2028.
“The new E-One Moli advanced manufacturing plant will create hundreds of good, local jobs and continue to establish British Columbia as a leader in building a clean energy future,” British Columbia Premier David Eby said.
Great, middle class careers for workers. And clean, made-in-Canada batteries for power tools, medical devices, and more. That’s what the new E-One Moli facility in Maple Ridge is going to deliver. And that’s what we were so excited about today. More here: https://t.co/r3TlBJ9QHM pic.twitter.com/Nuc2pQGwar
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) November 15, 2023
Read more: Northvolt set to build lithium-ion battery factory in Quebec for $7B
Read more: Lithium-ion battery market set to reach $18.8B by 2032: Allied Market Research
Trudeau should stop giving “buckets of cash” to foreign companies, Canadian Taxpayers Federation
While the plant is set to create jobs and boost Canada towards a green energy shift, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on both –provincial and federal– governments to drop the multimillion-dollar handout.
“Taxpayers are struggling and our governments shouldn’t be choosing to help corporations instead of ordinary Canadians,” said Carson Binda, British Columbia Director of the CTF.
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s latest corporate giveaway will cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars per job.”
CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano said that in the past few months alone, Trudeau has given “buckets of cash” to corporations like Volkswagen Group, Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), the Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Northvolt, Umicore and now E-One Moli.
“Instead of raising taxes on ordinary Canadians and handing out corporate welfare, governments should be cutting red tape and taxes to grow the economy.”
NEWS RELEASE: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal and British Columbia governments to abandon their multimillion-dollar handout to the multinational battery company E-One Moli.
— Carson Binda (@BindaCarson) November 14, 2023
In a report by the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, it was shown that the handouts to other battery manufacturers won’t break even for decades.
“The break-even timeline for the $28.2 billion in production subsidies announced for Stellantis-LGES and Volkswagen is estimated to be 20 years, significantly longer than the government’s estimate of a payback within five years,” the report reads.
natalia@mugglehead.com
