Germany’s BASF has secured land for an electric vehicle battery materials facility it plans to set up in Canada. From 2025, the facility in Becancour, Quebec, will produce and recycle cathode active materials (CAM).
Cathodes are the most complex and expensive components of an EV battery. The factory’s primary purpose will be to serve EV markets in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
According to Reuters, Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, said in a telephone interview the government planned on supporting BASF’s investment. He also mentioned that the upcoming facility would be the “first pillar” in the country’s efforts towards EV manufacturing.
Champagne stated BASF’s investment is the first “in a series,” adding that the aim was to make Becancour a hub, linking Quebec to Ontario, where Canada’s automotive industry is currently centered.
“Both Quebec and Ontario… will be joined when it comes to the automotive sector of the future,” he said.
“We’re building around Becancour kind of the full ecosystem of the critical minerals you need to produce a battery… that’s why you’ll see more to come,”
Last September, BASF predicted that its battery materials revenue would surpass 1.5 billion euros ($1.64 billion) by 2023. It expects it to cross 7 billion euros by 2030 as EVs are more widely accepted and production increases.
