Automotive News Canada - February 2021 - 23

* F E B R U A R Y 2021

'The future is having gigaplants
close to the automotive factories'
CONTINUED FROM PA GE 1

plans by the Detroit Three to build
electric vehicles at their Ontario
plants mean Canada will soon
have EV assembly.
Connecting the two ends of the
supply chain will require hard
work and money, experts said. But
thanks to an abundance of natural resources such as lithium and
cobalt, Canada is positioned to
take advantage as the demand for
EV batteries rises.
Pizzurro: " I cannot see Ford
Carmine Pizzurro, co-founder
Oakville building their electric
of the EV infrastructure compavehicles, particularly at high
ny eCamion and the manager of
volume, importing packs from
the former Delphi battery plant in
another country ... It has to be a
Oshawa, Ont., said such facilities
synchronous plant. " F I L E P H O T O
would need to be built close to EV
assembly plants for high-volume
Dean Stoneley, former CEO of
production.
Ford Canada, views Ford's $1.8-bilElectric vehicles can have hunlion investment in Oakville as an
dreds or thousands of individual
" anchor " for further EV production
cells, depending on the style of batin Canada - but it's only a start.
teries used in packs.
" Frankly, you probably need
" I cannot see Ford Oakville
more scale than one manufacbuilding their electric vehicles, par- turing plant, " Stoneley said
ticularly at high volume, importduring a virtual conference held
ing packs from another country. ...
in November by the Automotive
It has to be a synchronous plant, "
Parts Manufacturers' Association
like seating plants that are often in
(APMA). " So, I would welcome
close proximity to assembly plants,
news from any of our competitors
Pizzurro said on the Jan. 15 edition
to move into this space.
of Automotive News Canada's week " The more scale that we have
ly podcast.
here, the more opportunity
Automakers and supplithis would provide to bring
ers are already accustomed
full manufacturing here.
to localized parts producBut that's probably some
tion of larger components,
ways off at this point. "
such as engines, seats and
WAITING FOR EV OUTPUT
doors, which are difficult to
ship long-distance.
Automakers are invest " It's an unbelievable
ing billions of dollars into
amount of battery cells
Drobnak:
EV development, providthat have to be built [for
Because a
ing an opportunity for comEV models], and I can't see battery is
panies in the battery supthem being shipped all over costly to
ply chain. General Motors,
the country " and continent produce and
for instance, said it would
transport,
when EVs are mass prospend US$27 billion ($34.6
" it's the first
duced, Pizzurro said. " The
billion) on EV and autonofuture is having gigaplants component
mous-vehicle development
close to the automotive fac- you need
through 2025. Ford plans to
to consider
tories. "
spend US $22 billion ($27.9
to localize
Momentum to build a
billion) on electrification
very close
homegrown supply chain
through 2025.
to the plant
appears to be building. In
But today, no elecwhere
you
December, Ontario-based
tric vehicles are built in
manufacture
First Cobalt Refinery,
Canada. Ford plans to start
the cars.
owner of the only permitbuilding EVs in Oakville by
PHOTO
ted primary cobalt refinery V I A K L A U S
2026, while Stellantis plans
in North America, received D R O B N A K
to spend up to $1.5 billion
$10 million in federal and
on its Windsor, Ont., plant
provincial funding to accelerate the to build battery-electric or plug-in
recommissioning and expansion
hybrid vehicles, or both, on a new
of its northern Ontario factory - a
platform by 2024.
project worth $77 million.
GM will spend $1 billion retoolOnce completed, First Cobalt
ing its CAMI plant in Ingersoll
will be capable of producing 25,000
to assemble EV delivery vans by
tonnes of battery-grade cobalt sulNovember. Current plans are to
fate a year - roughly five per cent
import batteries from Ohio for an
of the global market, the company
initial run of about 500 vans, said
said in a statement.
GM Canada President Scott Bell.
But for Canada to become an
If the number of EV models
EV battery hub, first it would
built in Canada rises in the coming
need more EV assembly scale.
years, automakers and suppliers

First Cobalt plans a $77-million upgrade to its mining facility in
northern Ontario that will allow for the annual production of 25,000
tonnes of battery-grade cobalt sulfate. P H O T O : F I R S T C O B A LT

could face pressure to localize as
much of the battery supply chain as
possible.
As it currently stands, the
transportation of batteries is costly and can take time because they
are transported primarily by sea
because of aircraft weight restrictions, said Klaus Drobnak, Magna
Steyr's vice-president in Asia.
Additionally, China produces
a majority of the lithium hydroxide used for EV batteries, Drobnak
said. That means the supply chain
is heavily affected when problems
occur there. The same is true for
cobalt, most of which is mined in
the Congo.
" Disruptions in the area can
turn into bottlenecks for the entire
supply chain, " Drobnak said during
the APMA conference, " so this is
always a risk that we have. "

MISSING INGREDIENTS
Battery assembly can be done
in Canada now, but raw materials
would have to be sourced from elsewhere for the time being, until the
domestic mining industry builds
capacity, said Frank So, executive vice-president of E-One Moli
Energy Corp., a Taiwanese manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries
with a Canadian
division based in
Maple Ridge, B.C.,
just outside of
Vancouver.
Canada has the
ability to eventually mine the
materials for use
So: Canada
in EVs, So said,
has the
though it would
ability to
require determinamine the
tion throughout the
minerals
entire supply chain.
used in
" A lot of our
EVs, but the mining resourcentire supply
es are basicalchain will
ly waiting for the
have to be
demand to take
involved.
off before there's
PHOTO VIA
investment, " he
FRANK SO
said. " But at the
same time, without the material
available within
North America, it
makes it very difficult to just start up
and manufacture
because a lot of the
Lynch:
materials are still
Ramping up coming from overthe mining
seas. "
requires
Developing the
considerable mining for battery
collaboration production and
involving
assembly in Canada
miners,
is doable, said
refiners,
automakers Brett Lynch, CEO
of Sayona Mining
and
Ltd., a lithium
suppliers.
miner in Quebec
PHOTO VIA
and Australia.
B R E T T LY N C H
It would require
a concerted effort involving miners, refiners, automakers and suppliers to ensure that the industry's
specifications are met at every step
along the way.
" This can all be done in
Canada, " Lynch said, " and that is a
unique advantage. " - ANC

GM sees the number
of delivery vehicles in the world's 100
largest cities growing by 36 per cent by the
end of the decade. P H O T O : G E N E R A L M O T O R S

BrightDrop business
called 'visionary'
CONTINUED FROM PA GE 3

GM currently offers
the gasoline-powered
Chevrolet Express and
GMC Savana vans,
which have not been
redesigned since they
were introduced in
1995. The automaker
is banking on its new
electric van to stand
out in what it expects
will be a growing segment.
GM expects the
market for parcel, food
delivery and reverse
logistics in the United
States to exceed US
$850 billion ($1.08 trillion) by 2025, with
the number of delivery vehicles in the
world's 100 largest cities growing by 36 per
cent by the end of the
decade. GM plans to
launch BrightDrop in
the United States and
Canada.

VANS MAKE IDEAL EVs

alongside the van -
such as the electric
pallet, called the EP1,
and fleet-management
software and services
-gives GM an advantage among competitors that offer vehicles only, Krebs said.
Additionally, the automaker has a large
dealer network in
the United States and
Canada that can make
servicing the vans easier than vehicles purchased from smaller
competitors, she said.
GM's first
BrightDrop van customer is FedEx,
which has ordered
500 EV600s. Assembly
of those vehicles will
begin in November
at the CAMI plant
in Ingersoll, Ont.
Production for other
customers will begin
in 2022.

UNIFOR ON BOARD

The scope of GM's
The automaker
plans for BrightDrop
thinks the market for
was one of the reaelectric commercial
sons that Unifor decidvans will grow expoed to negotiate with
nentially in that
the automaker eight
period.
months before
Michelle
the prior colKrebs, an analective agreelyst at Cox
ment for 1,900
Automotive,
CAMI worksaid EVs are
ers was set
well-suited to
to expire in
the commercial
September,
space, since
Krebs:
said union
GM has an
range anxiPresident
advantage
ety is largely a
Jerry Dias.
over rivals
nonfactor with
Unifor, like
because
short drives,
GM, believes
it offers
and the cost of
e-commerce
services such will continue
maintenance,
as
fleet
theoretically, is
to grow globlower than that management. ally in the
TO: COX
of gasoline-pow- PA HU O
coming years,
TOMOTIVE
ered vans.
even after the
Cox Automotive is
COVID-19 pandeman investor in Rivian.
ic ends and health
" There's a lot of
restrictions are lifted.
volume [in fleet], and
" GM is putting in
it's quite predictable
a ton of money with
volume, " Krebs said.
BrightDrop, " Dias
" With EVs, you can
said. " They see that as
make a big dent in
a winner, and they see
emissions by going
that's where the industo EVs in a fleet. You
try is heading. I comalso have more conpletely agree.
trol, you know where
" I think it's bold. I
they're going and you
think it's visionary. I
can plan the infrathink it's aggressive.
structure around
I'm pleased to be in on
charging them. "
the ground floor. "
Offering services
- ANC

Automotive News Canada - February 2021

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