Electric battery facility to be built in Sudbury, creating hundreds of jobs

Wyloo Metals has a deal with Greater Sudbury for land to build a battery materials processing facility in the city.

In a news release Wednesday, the city said the facility will fill a gap in Canada’s electric vehicle battery supply chain by establishing Canada’s first “mine-to-precursor cathode active material integrated solution.”

The facility will cost between $800 million and $900 million and will employ hundreds of people.

Wyloo CEO Canada Kristan Straub said the facility would provide the missing piece in Canada’s aspirations to develop a domestic EV battery supply chain, by producing low-carbon nickel sulphate and other key ingredients for EV batteries.

“Recognizing the global demand for electric vehicles and other clean technologies, Canada has invested over $40 billion to date to establish the country as a global hub for the EV industry,” Straub is quoted as saying in a news release.

“While we commend this investment, it has exposed a significant gap in the North American EV supply chain, specifically, the conversion of ore to battery chemicals.”

“The urgency to bolster North America’s capacity for processing metals – in particular, nickel – has never been more apparent,” he added.

“Our facility will be the missing piece that builds the capacity to process battery materials right here in Sudbury.”

Nickel for the facility will be supplied by Wyloo’s proposed Eagle’s Nest mine in the Ring of Fire region of northern Ontario, as well as other sources of third-party nickel-bearing feed and recycled battery materials.

“With Eagle’s Nest as our anchor, combined with third-party feed from other North American sources, we are building enough capacity to meet 50 per cent of the nickel demand from the announced EV investments,” Straub said.

“Our commitment is to deliver a responsibly sourced supply of high-grade clean nickel from extraction to processing … I want to thank the City of Greater Sudbury for its vision in fostering local industry and also want to acknowledge the support of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and Wahnapitae First Nations who we look forward to partnering with as we progress this project.”

Partnership with Wyloo

“We look forward to continuing the conversation and developing a partnership with Wyloo for this project,” Atikameksheng Anishnawbek Gimaa Craig Nootchtai said in the news release.

“Working together ensures our traditions and culture are incorporated in the economic development of the lands.”

“Being involved in these conversations is vital to our communities,” added Wahnapitae First Nation Chief Larry Roque.

“The partnership set to be developed with this project will showcase what needs to be done for other First Nations and private companies.”

“I look forward to continued support by the Ontario and Canadian governments to expedite a path forward to production, which will create a truly North American supply chain from mine to EV batteries,” Straub said.

Construction of the facility expected to begin following the construction of its proposed Eagle’s Nest mine. Mine construction is targeted to begin in 2027.

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