GM and POSCO welcome federal and Quebec govt. support for CAM facility

General Motors and POSCO Future M welcomed the announcements by Québec Premier François Legault and federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne of financial support for the development of a Cathode Active Material (CAM) processing facility. The Ultium CAM facility is a joint venture between GM and POSCO Future M, located in Bécancour, Québec.

The project was first announced in March 2022 to supply General Motors’ fast-expanding battery production in North America. The JV project investment of more than $600 million is under construction and on schedule to begin CAM production in the first half of 2025. It is expected to create approximately 200 direct full-time jobs. Government support, Bécancour’s industrial site and the ability to access Québec’s low carbon hydroelectricity for EV-critical mineral processing were all important factors in selecting the Québec plant location.

GM explains that CAM is a key battery material representing about 40 percent of the cost of a battery cell. The company is executing plans to install one million units of annual EV capacity in North America in 2025 and grow from there. It has also announced four U.S. battery cell joint venture plants with one already open and two under construction. The Ultium CAM joint venture project will support the production of electric Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Buick and BrightDrop vehicles in North America.

“We thank Premier Legault and Ministers Pierre Fitzgibbon and François-Philippe Champagne for their tremendous leadership in supporting our efforts to build a secure, sustainable, scalable and cost-competitive EV supply chain to support our fast-growing electric vehicle production across North America,” said GM Canada president and managing director Marissa West. “We at GM Canada are particularly proud to be back in Québec, growing investments and jobs in alignment with the province’s vision for the future of transportation.”

“Our investment in Bécancour-based CAM production is an important step in building a more secure and resilient North America-focused supply chain to support GM’s fast-growing EV production needs and this site offers room to grow for the JV and its partners in the future,” said Sham Kunjur, GM’s executive director for EV Raw Materials’ Center of Excellence.