$3.2B graphite plant to bring up to 1,000 jobs to St. Thomas

By: Norman De Bono

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ST. THOMAS – The region’s newest manufacturing employer got a welcome and a $670-million cheque from Premier Doug Ford last Thursday.

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Ford was in St. Thomas to welcome Vianode, a Norwegian synthetic-graphite manufacturer, and its $3.2-billion investment. The plant is projected to employ 300 people when production begins in 2028, and could reach 1,000 jobs as it ramps up, said chief executive Burkhard Straube.

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Western electric-vehicle battery manufacturers currently import 100 per cent of their graphite from Asia. This plant will make the supply chain independent, meaning the North American EV industry may come knocking at St. Thomas’ door.

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“Ontario and Canada have built an impressive auto supply chain, including an ecosystem for lithium-ion batteries,” Straube said

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“Our investment here in St. Thomas will solve Western, Ontario and Canada challenges and build a resilient supply chain for the G7 in critical minerals, closing the gap in the automotive and EV value chain.”

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This is Vianode’s first North American facility and will be the largest synthetic-graphite plant in “the Western world,” Straube said.

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The plant will have capacity to supply about 150,000 tonnes a year – enough graphite to power more than two million electric vehicles – and will also target other sectors, including nuclear energy, defence and steelmaking.

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“We are here to celebrate another critical investment,” said Premier Doug Ford.

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He called the jobs to be created “life-changing careers” that will support “tens of thousands” of additional positions in the mining, battery manufacturing, research, transportation and advanced-manufacturing sectors.

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Vianode, headquartered in Oslo and launched in 2021, has a supply deal with GM in the U.S., but not with PowerCo, the Volkswagen-owned EV battery plant under construction in St. Thomas.

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“This is generational change,” St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston said. “We create jobs so people can stay in our community, buy a house in St. Thomas. We look at the whole region as a development area.”

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Provincial Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said funding for Vianode will be structured as a loan, calling the plant a critical piece of Ontario’s EV strategy.