‘The mayor hasn’t stopped smiling since’: Battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont. officially under construction

Construction is officially underway at the Volkswagen/PowerCo EV battery plant in St. Thomas. CTV’s Lauren Stallone has the story.

Ground has officially been broken on Volkswagen’s PowerCo electric vehicle battery gigafactory in St. Thomas.

“The mayor hasn’t stopped smiling since,” said St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston.

The milestone kicked off development of three major buildings at the site, making it the largest facility of its kind in the country, with full production expected to begin in 2027.

The foundation work is being led by Magil Construction Canada Inc. and includes over 500,000 sq. ft. of formwork, more than 32,000 cubic meters of concrete and approximately 4,850 metric tonnes of rebar.

“Part of the strategic plan that got us to bring this battery factory here, or any industry here, was about the generational change it can do for St. Thomas,” said Preston.

Preston says this is an exciting time for the community as the gigafactory is “coming to life…and already delivering on its promise of prosperity.”

“Generations in the future can stay here, have a job that pays well enough to buy a home in St. Thomas and become part of a really vibrant community,” Preston added.

First announced in March of 2023, the facility is set to create up to 3,000 direct jobs while protecting Ontario’s auto manufacturing supply chain amidst the trade war.

“It’s the world’s largest automaker. They don’t do a plan for just this year when Donald Trump’s got tariffs, they’re doing a plan looking forward,” said Preston.

In a statement, the Minister of Economic Development Vic Fedeli said, “At a time of increasing global uncertainty, our government continues to create the conditions for businesses and workers to succeed. We commend PowerCo for moving swiftly to bring this project to life and for recognizing the resilience of Ontario’s world-class workforce.”

Once complete, the site will produce PowerCo’s unified cell battery technology, with the goal of solidifying Canada’s role as a global manufacturing hub.

PowerCo said it has launched a major recruitment campaign across southwestern Ontario, with more than 100 applications already received.

The campaign includes transit, billboard, and social media ads aimed at attracting top-tier local talent for the thousands of jobs the plant will create.

“Electric vehicles are the future of the global automotive sector, and we’re proud to spearhead such a significant investment, while positioning Canada at the forefront of innovative EV battery production,” said Frank Blome, CEO of PowerCo SE.

“As other areas of southern Ontario continue to look for what’s next, we can say, we already have it,” said Preston.

With files from CTV News London’s Kristylee Varley