The governments of Canada and the province of Quebec will make an equal investment totalling almost $100 million for the creation of a highly-automated battery-pack assembly plant in St-Jerome, an hour north of Montreal. The project which will require an investment of $185 million will be built by Lion Electric, a maker of zero-emission vehicles including urban trucks, buses and minibuses.

The plant to open in early 2023 will produce battery packs and modules made from lithium-ion cells. Having such a plant should reduce Lion’s cost of vehicle manufacturing and help it control and optimize its batteries which are the most expensive component of an electric vehicle. Lion Electric predicts the new capacity will allow it to electrify about 14,000 medium and heavy-duty vehicles yearly. It expects to produce one battery module every 11 seconds and a full battery pack every five minutes.

The plant will make Lion Electric the first Canadian manufacturer of medium and heavy-duty vehicles to have its own automated battery pack manufacturing capability and should make it more competitive in the North American market. Lion says it will also create an innovation centre to focus on research and development.

The project will create 135 direct jobs and is expected to create 150 more over the longer term.

The investment is in line with both governments’ stated goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“With today’s announcement, we are continuing to take steps to support our Canadian businesses, invest in innovation, and protect the environment,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in announcing the funding. “It is because of companies like Lion Electric that we are accelerating our transition to a resilient and competitive clean growth economy.”