BECANCOUR, QUE.- Much of the heavy machinery at the Nemaska Lithium plant site in Quebec, is at a standstill after majority owner Rio Tinto issued dozens of layoff notices. Workers were not the only thing affected, construction on an EV battery chain that was nearly 80 per cent complete is now forced to pause. This marks the latest sign for the town of Bécancour, located in a region known as “Battery Valley,” that plans for the area to become a hub of an EV manufacturing boom may not come to fruition. “Decisions on further investment and project timing at Bécancour will depend on the outcome of the evaluation, project economics, market conditions, and customer needs,” Rio Tinto said in a statement. The global metal and mining giant said it remains confident in the long-term outlook for lithium processing in Quebec and Canada, despite a decline in lithium prices as global demand for battery materials and electric vehicles has slowed. The fallout could hit the town of Bécancour, which is nestled along the shores of the St. Lawrence River halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. The Nemaska plant is vital in Quebec’s plan to set up an EV battery manufacturing chain in the province. In the same plan, the province promised to develop Bécancour into a hub. Slow EV sales halt economic boost As EV batteries and plants started to set up shop in the town’s industrial park in 202, Bécancour estimated it would see a boost of 1,500 direct and 5,000 indirect jobs, including in the restaurant industry and service sector. The population grew slightly with the arrival of workers at construction sites. To accommodate them the city planned to expand schools, build housing and even purchase new ladder trucks for the local fire station. However, when sales of EVs slowed, some projects were paused, while others were completely scrapped. In March, Nemaska announced it would scale down the pace of building its processing plant. Though Quebec owns 46.1 per cent of Nemaska, the province’s new government said this week it would not spend a penny more on the project for the time being. “Our sincere hope is that this is going to work, because I don’t want to be the guy to write off the $1.1 billion we invested,” said Quebec Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Energy Stéphane Paquet. But many in the Bécancour area say the setbacks are simply bumps in the road that leads to electrification. “The battery file is here to stay,” said the prefect of the region Mario Lyonnais. “I am confident that the Nemaska plant will open. When it does, we will be ready and we will continue to prepare.” Lyonnais says the battery boom was happening very quickly and that it was hard for the municipalities in the region to keep up with the pace of scaling up services. He says the slowdown may allow the area more time to be fully ready for the grand opening of Nemaska and for a time when EV battery manufacturing delivers the region a boost.
