Eby, Trudeau announce new battery factory in Maple Ridge
Posted November 14, 2023 2:29 pm.
A new battery production plant is coming to Maple Ridge, according to a joint announcement by Premier David Eby and Prime Minister Trudeau.
On Tuesday, the leaders gathered in Maple Ridge to announce the $1.05 billion partnership between battery manufacturer E-One Moli, and the provincial and federal governments.
The plant will produce lithium-ion battery cells and become an anchor for E-One Moli’s North American production, according to the province.
“British Columbians have long been known for their innovation in the clean-technology space,” Trudeau said. “Today, as we secure a major clean battery manufacturing project in Maple Ridge, we build on expertise to secure hundreds of middle-class jobs, while fighting climate change.”
Trudeau says the new plant will create up to 350 new jobs and secure more than 100 existing positions, making E-One Moli the largest private-sector employer in Maple Ridge. This will be an addition to the company’s pre-existing operations in the area.
The province will invest up to $80 million into the new facility, in addition to the $970 million investment by the federal government, E-One Moli and private sources.
It will be Western Canada’s first lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility, the province states.
“E-One Moli has been a long-time employer in Maple Ridge,” Mayor Dan Ruimy of Maple Ridge said. “This kind of growth and investment in businesses like E-One Moli helps to diversify our tax base and enable Maple Ridge to invest in community infrastructure.”
The battery cells produced in the plant will be useable in products such as vacuums, power tools, garden trimmers and medical devices.
B.C. says this project will provide a local alternative to battery products that are currently preddominantly produced in Asia.
It adds the plant will improve the position of the province in “sustainable battery-component manufacturing as demand rises for clean-energy solutions.”
This announcement comes after B.C. contributed up to $10 million to build a new mass timber-production facility in Williams Lake.
This facility is expected to create more than 70 jobs and help transition B.C.’s wood sector from “high-volume to high-value,” B.C. states.
The province also recently invested $75 million into a biotech expansion in Vancouver, that it says will create 400 jobs.
