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The Windsor region has taken another major step in growing its electric vehicle/battery cluster with Thursday’s announcement that NEO Battery Materials Ltd. will build a manufacturing and research and development facility on the city’s airport lands.
And those at the top of this latest addition to Windsor’s growing automobility hub say they’re not worried by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade threats.
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The initial NEO Battery investment to build an 87,000-square-foot plant is $69 million, with 100 new jobs created at the start. But that’s expected to grow to $120 million and about 130 employees once the plant is fully operational.
“This milestone investment in Windsor will be transformative, not just for Windsor, but also Ontario and Canada,” said Danny Huh, NEO Battery Material’s senior vice-president of strategy and operations.
“Silicon anodes are the only viable material for the short- and midterm to actually increase the EV battery capacity or any types of battery capacity.”
The Windsor plant will be NEO Battery’s first in Canada and the facility will be the first of its kind in this country. The firm has a substantial research and development presence already in South Korea.
Huh said silicon anodes are far cheaper than the graphite version and are the pathway for automakers to make electric vehicles that are competitively priced with gas-powered versions. Silicon anodes also extend battery range and charge faster.
The company’s patented low-cost manufacturing allows it to produce its anodes 60 per cent cheaper than competitors, said Huh.
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“We haven’t found a better place in Canada than Windsor (to locate),” he said in explaining why the company chose to locate in the city.
“Windsor is where all the battery innovation is happening within Canada. Here in Windsor, that is where all the good is happening.”
Huh said the company expects to begin construction in the second half of 2025.
“For the period of the next five years, we’ll be able to construct the full phase of production,” Huh said.
“Production (of anodes) will start in the latter half of 2025 and we believe full-scale production will be completed in the next five years.”
The Canadian battery materials company will be manufacturing specialized coatings and developing silicon anode materials for lithium-ion batteries for use in electric vehicles, electronics and energy storage systems at its Windsor plant. As the plant scales up, Huh said the company’s vision and ambitions will also widen.
“We will also pursue different value-added projects as well,” Huh said. “We’re looking to recycle silicon from waste solar panels as well as from semi-conductor waste.
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“We can recover that to make high-purity silicon that can be used as our inputs.”
While acknowledging Trump’s hostility towards EVs and government EV incentives might slow the electrification transition, Huh said the ultimate destination of an auto industry that has already committed billions to EV production remains unchanged.
He added his company had a different perspective on Trump’s threat to remove EV incentives and supports, pointing out NEO Battery will be developing products that actually reduce costs enough to make those incentives unnecessary.
“We’re completely excited about the journey we’re taking,” Huh said. “Silicon anodes will drive the innovation of the next five to 10 years.
“We’re not too concerned about the short-term changes within (Trump’s) policy.”
NEO Battery is hoping many of those new products and breakthroughs will come from the research and development facility that will be part of its Windsor operations.
Huh said the company is expanding its focus to the space and electric vertical takeoff and landing sectors as well, exploring different battery chemistries and solid-state electrolytes.
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NEO Battery previously announced in September it had a memo of understanding with the University of Windsor to partner on research and development. The company also has more than 80 non-disclosure agreements with ‘top tier battery manufacturers, automotive OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and electronics OEMs.’
“We went after this company really hard and worked with them for the last two years to land here,” said Joe Goncalves, Invest WindsorEssex’s vice-president of investment attraction and strategic initiatives.
“One of the things we’re trying to attract here is not only the manufacturers, but the R&D component.
“Now we have an EV manufacturer, a battery manufacturer, R&D centres and companies in the supply chain. We have that ecosystem forming and we have others coming that will really build that cluster.
“It already is the largest cluster in Canada and probably in North America; it’s that concentrated.”
NEO Battery will become the third company to establish a battery/electric vehicle research and development centre in Windsor.
Stellantis and Flex N Gate have also established significant centres in the past three years.
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Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said the area has executed a remarkable pivot from the Great Recession of 2008-09 when unemployment was 16 per cent, Chrysler was on the verge of bankruptcy and people were moving to Alberta to find work.
“You think of the 180-turn we’ve made — it’s fair to say, with today’s announcement adding to it, it certainly solidifies Windsor’s position as the automotive and automobility capital of Canada,” Dilkens said.
“This is another piece of the puzzle when it comes to automobiles and electrification that is really important. The people they’re hiring are smart people, engineers and others, who attract other people to the community.
“This will lead to ultimately a change in that old mindset that Windsor is just a blue-collar lunch-bucket town.”
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