The $5-billion NextStar Energy electric-vehicle battery plant, a joint venture between Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions, continues to lure suppliers to Windsor, Ont.
DS Actimo Canada, a subsidiary of South Korea-based DSEV, will spend $60 million to build a plant where it will manufacture battery cell module cases with wiring components for EV batteries, including those to be produced at NextStar. They will eventually find their way into vehicles built by Stellantis at its Windsor Assembly Plant.
The Ontario government said it will provide a $5-million loan to the supplier to help pay for the factory, the first such plant in North America for DS Actimo Canada. Terms of the loan were not disclosed.
Full production is slated to begin in September.
DS Active’s investment comes on the heels of a quarter in which electric vehicles and their production took a beating in the headlines. The year began with stories of charging failure and less range during a cold snap in February. Tesla, a global leader in EV production, reported a dismal quarter. And closer to home, Ford said it would delay by two years the production of its three-row electric vehicle to be assembled in Oakville, Ont.
But DS Actimo and provincial politicians say they aren’t worried about the North American EV market.
‘FUTURE IS BRIGHT’ EVs
“The EV market is a little bit slow, that’s been occurring since the second half of the last year, but we certainly believe that it will rebound in the future,” DS Actimo Global CFO Euiyeoul Song said. “I believe our future is very bright.”
Ontario Minister of Economic Development Vic Fedeli, who was on hand to make the financing announcement, shared Song’s optimism.
“Our pipeline of companies wanting to locate in Ontario has not diminished,” he said of EV suppliers.
Fedeli said 2024 will be “a spectacular year” for automotive investment in Ontario, from the mining of critical minerals to the refinement of those minerals and from batteries and auto assembly to recycling.
“None of that has slowed down. That’s our indicator,” Fedeli said, confidently.
ANOTHER EV BATTERY SUPPLIER
DS Actimo wasn’t the only auto supplier to announce plans in Windsor.
Kautex Textron, a plastic fuel tank manufacturer will invest almost $23 million to build a new battery skid plate manufacturing facility to produce battery casings for EVs. The casings will use advanced composite materials.
Kautex says its new Pentatonic Underbody Protection “prevents mechanical intrusions into the battery enclosure.” The supplier says it weighs 50 per cent less than metal alternatives.
Ontario will loan Kautex $1.2 million to help pay for the plant.
The provincial money for both companies is coming from Ontario’s Regional Development Program.