The mayor of Loyalist Township says while plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant have been put on hold, the project is not off the table.
Umicore, the company behind the new factory, says that demand for EV batteries has dropped, leading them to pause construction on the Rechargeable Battery Materials Plant.
Loyalist Township Mayor Jim Hegadorn tells Quinte News says they’ve been in discussions with Umicore and while there could be changes to the planned project, he believes it will go ahead.
“They’ve decided to do a complete review globally of their business and it will take in the Loyalist project as well. But, from what I understand, the Loyalist project, the demand is still there for it. It is a gateway into the North American market.”
An estimated one thousand jobs would have been created during construction and several hundred workers were going to be needed to operate the completed plant which would build components for the EV batteries.
Ground was broken at the site in 2023 and the factory was set to begin operating in 2025.
