Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥) yesterday announced that its subsidiary E-One Moli Quantum Energy (Canada) Ltd would establish a battery cell plant in the Vancouver suburb of Maple Ridge, with one-fifth of the funding to be provided by the Canadian government.
E-One Moli plans to start construction of the plant next year, Taiwan Cement said in a statement on its Web site.
The plant, which is to have 2.8 gigawatt-hours of battery capacity, is expected to become fully operational in 2028, producing up to 135 million lithium-ion batteries per year, it said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Cement Corp
Taiwan Cement plans an initial investment of NT$25.5 billion (US$794.19 million) in the facility, with a subsidy of NT$4.8 billion from the Canadian government’s Strategic Innovation Fund, the statement said.
TCC Group (台泥集團) is to raise NT$10 billion to finance the investment, with the rest from bank loans and support from strategic investors, the statement said.
The project would be the largest high-performance lithium-ion battery cell investment in Canada, it said.
With British Columbia-based electric utility BC Hydro to build a special transmission and distribution network for E-One Moli to use hydroelectric power in the province, the new plant would become the world’s first battery cell factory that “uses 100 percent green electricity,” it said.
E-One Moli’s announcement came as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accompanied by British Columbia Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Brenda Bailey and British Columbia Premier David Eby, visited the subsidiary’s production base in Vancouver on Tuesday.
Trudeau said that British Columbia has long been known for innovation in the clean technology space, and securing the major clean battery project in Maple Ridge would build on that expertise to create jobs and fight climate change.
“When we support projects like E-One Moli’s new facility in Maple Ridge, we bolster Canada’s role as a global clean tech leader, we create good jobs and we help keep our air clean,” the statement quoted Trudeau as saying.
The investment is expected to create 450 jobs, making E-One Moli one of the largest private-sector employers in the region, the firm said.
TCC Group chairman Nelson Chang (張安平) and E-One Moli Energy Corp (能元科技) president Casey Shiue (薛人禎) were at the site to welcome Trudeau and other Canadian officials.
E-One Moli is committed to innovation, creativity and social values, Chang said.
“We believe that carbon dioxide reduction is key to the success of all businesses in the future,” the statement quoted him as saying.
Taiwan’s technology protection rules prohibits Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) from producing 2-nanometer chips abroad, so the company must keep its most cutting-edge technology at home, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks in response to concerns that TSMC might be forced to produce advanced 2-nanometer chips at its fabs in Arizona ahead of schedule after former US president Donald Trump was re-elected as the next US president on Tuesday. “Since Taiwan has related regulations to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently,” Kuo said at a meeting of the legislature’s
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
RSS