Cathode plant | New break at the Ford-EcoPro construction site in Bécancour

Ford’s cathode plant and its Korean partners are facing new delays. Already put on hold last spring, work has been interrupted again since August 5, it has been learned The Press.

“This temporary pause is necessary to resolve technical issues requiring redesign,” National, the press relations firm for EcoPro BM, the Korean company responsible for building the plant, confirmed in an email.

According to the message, “fluctuations in demand for electric vehicles” and “battery preferences” have prompted the consortium to reevaluate its manufacturing strategy. According to EcoPro, the partners, which also include Korea’s SK On, want to ensure “the long-term profitability and sustainability” of their operations in Quebec.

The company says it wants to complete the work “as soon as possible.” EcoPro has not mentioned a date, but according to several sources familiar with the worksite who are not authorized to speak about it, it could reopen during the month of September.

“We remain confident in Quebec’s potential as a cathode manufacturing hub, supported by its clean energy, skilled workforce and strong support from the federal and Quebec governments,” EcoPro’s statement said.

A second interruption

The developers had already stopped work at the end of April after the construction of several floors, for similar reasons.

They had also withdrawn the contract from the project manager AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin). They then entrusted a subsidiary of the Canam Group with the mandate to continue the structure of the plant. Work resumed at the end of May.

At the time, François Legault’s government attributed the suspension of work to an analysis of the “best technological option” to be retained. The partners had to choose the right chemical process and organize the spaces according to this decision.

The Press also reported that the three project partners were each facing significant financial challenges related to the electrification of the automotive industry.

Reflection in progress

Ford simply hasn’t finished thinking about the best technology to use in its vehicles, says energy materials specialist Gregory Patience at Polytechnique Montréal.

“Once a plant design is done, it’s really exceptional that something is changed,” he says. Since the automaker’s discussions with its cathode suppliers have not been completed, the partners have preferred to interrupt the project once again, he says.

In August 2023, EcoPro BM, Ford and SK On announced with great fanfare a $1.2 billion investment to build this plant to manufacture cathodes – the positive pole of lithium-ion batteries.

Quebec and Ottawa have committed to financing the work to the tune of $640 million.

The plant was to produce its first cathodes in the first half of 2026, reaching a capacity of 45,000 tonnes of active material per year.

Ford was to join the consortium that owns the plant, after taking an option on the land from the Société du parc industriel et portuaire de Bécancour in February 2023. It was ultimately a subsidiary of the Korean EcoPro BM that got its hands on the property, but the American automobile giant is still part of the consortium.

In a short email statement, the director of communications at the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Mathieu St-Amand, wrote that “the company confirmed to us that a temporary pause would take place at the Bécancour construction site.”

Assuring that no money has been disbursed for the project to date, he added: “We are confident that the project will resume in the coming weeks.”

Ford has revised its ambitions

In recent months, Ford has revised its ambitions in the electric vehicle sector.

Since 2020, the American manufacturer has been making multiple announcements to position itself as a key player in electrification. It claimed that between 40% and 50% of its global production would be electric by 2030. The company even planned to be able, by the end of the decade, to supply only electric vehicles for the European market.

Ford opened its first factory dedicated to electric vehicles earlier this summer in Cologne, Germany, but the automaker also clarified last spring that it was no longer targeting all-electric by 2030, explaining that demand was lower than estimated.