General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) and South Korea’s POSCO Future M said they will be investing to further expand the production capacity at their battery materials facility in Canada, taking their estimated total investment in the plant to over US$1B.
The companies announced that the new investment in their Ultium CAM plant, expected to open in 2025, will be used to help increase North American CAM production capacity as well as integrate precursor materials production.
Cathodes are the most complex and costly chemical component of an EV battery. CAM, or cathode active material, makes up about 40% of the cost of a battery. Precursor CAM (pCAM) is necessary to produce CAM and the processing of both materials is predominantly concentrated in Asia.
“Increasing CAM production capacity and adding pCAM to our joint venture is another significant step in building a more secure and sustainable North America-focused supply chain to support GM’s fast-growing EV production needs,” said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president of global product development, purchasing, and supply chain.
The latest investment in capacity is expected to support GM’s target to build 1M EVs in North America by 2025 as major automakers push to make them more accessible to consumers and eventually establish cost parity with internal combustible engines.
GM-POSCO’s Ultium CAM joint venture will support production of about 360,000 Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Buick, and BrightDrop vehicles annually between 2025-2030 in North America. The companies established the venture, majority owned by POSCO Future M, in July of 2022. Site selection has yet to be announced.
“We started by establishing battery cell production in the US. From there, we have been working through the entire battery supply chain, all the way to raw material recovery. We’re building higher levels of vertical integration, driving expanded investment, and helping create jobs across North America,” added Mr. Parks.
This milestone announcement is the latest in a series of actions GM has taken to build a more secure EV supply chain and came just days after Canada’s federal government and the province of Quebec each provided about US$112M for the facility in Becancour, Quebec. “POSCO Future M’s advanced technology and experience is supported by our expanding partnership with GM. We are aiming to play a key role in the eco-friendly mobility market with our products,” said Kim Joon-Hyung, President, POSCO Future M.
