A highly touted expansion in British Columbia clean technology economy was put on hold.
In November 2023, Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau and David Eby announced a billion-dollar expansion of a Maple Ridge lithium-ion battery plant, a project expected to create 350 permanent jobs.
But the company behind the proposal, the battery cell maker E-One Molinow argues that the economics of battery power electrification have changed. The company said the Maple Ridge plant was one of several projects it was scaling back globally.
Taiwan Cement Corp. President Nelson Chang said in a statement that construction was halted in order to focus on Taiwanese production, following the lead of other battery makers who were suspending similar projects across the country. North America.
Chang’s statement said it will be “very difficult” for the company to build new factories overseas before reaching full efficiency at its Taiwan factory.
Maple Ridge Mayor Dan Ruimy said despite the pause, he remains confident the project will eventually be completed.
“They were very clear: it was just a break. If they wanted to cancel it, they would have canceled it,” he said.
Ruimy said that given the “scale of change” the company was considering investing in, it was not surprising that it had taken a step back to analyze the market, given the changing political conditions and economic.
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But he said the fact that the plant is designed to produce non-automotive batteries is to its advantage.
“They always said the project here was a viable project and it made sense to have a North American factory specializing in non-automotive batteries and appliance batteries,” he added.
The proposed plant shutdown comes amid a plateau in the global battery technology market, with a glut of product while demand falls short of expectations.
Clean technology projects around the world are being reconsidered, not only in the battery sector, but also in the alternative fuels sector.
In Prince George, a hydrogen production plant was demolished earlier this year.
One analyst said there was too much uncertainty both regarding the adoption of specific technologies as well as the future of government policies like Canada’s electric vehicle mandate.
“They will only invest if they know they can actually recoup their investment over the next few years,” said Werner Antweiler, an economics professor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business.
“If the electric vehicle market is going to stagnate… then we will see this hesitation because there is already a glut of projects that have been announced elsewhere. It is therefore the marginal factory which will withdraw, the one which will find itself in the most difficult situation to produce in this environment.
Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix said the decision was unfortunate, but the province remained committed to becoming a “clean technology superpower.”
“They have stated their reasons, which are largely international factors and are obviously disappointing,” he said.
“We’re obviously not happy with it, but in British Columbia we’re going to drive economic development and especially clean economic development. »
The provincial government had pledged $80 million for the expansion project, while the federal government had pledged $204.5 million.
While the battery plant expansion is on hold, the existing Maple Ridge plant continues to manufacture lithium-ion cells.
With files from the Canadian Press
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