The Lion Electric Company on Tuesday officially inaugurated its new manufacturing factory that will produce lithium-ion batteries for medium and heavy-duty vehicles in Mirabel.
The first of its kind in Canada, this recently built 175,000 square feet facility located at the YMX International Aerocity of Mirabel, Quebec will power electric vehicles assembled by Lion at its Saint-Jérôme, Quebec and Joliet, Ill., manufacturing plants.
In the presence of Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy and Benoit Charrette, Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks, this major event brought together various Lion stakeholders, including customers, employees, partners and members of the electrification of transportation ecosystem in North America.
Following the completion of the installation of the initial portion of the battery assembly line in Mirabel, Lion says production of the first battery pack was completed at the end of 2022. Final certification of the first battery pack model is expected in the first half of 2023, followed by a gradual production ramp-up in 2023. The first Lion batteries will serve to power the LionC and LionD school buses and the Lion5 trucks.
The new facility is targeted to reach a production capacity of 1.7 gigawatt hour by the end of the year. At full scale, it should have an annual production capacity of 5 gigawatt hours. This would enable Lion to electrify approximately 14,000 medium and heavy-duty vehicles per year, depending on the vehicle mix.
"I am incredibly proud that we have reached this significant milestone in Lion Electric's journey. This official opening celebrates the culmination of several years of efforts that now allow us to control the manufacturing and integration of one of the fundamental components in the production of electric vehicles and the electrification of transportation — namely the battery. With this new facility, Lion will be able to strengthen its leadership role in the electrification of the transportation ecosystem in Canada and the United States. We look forward to continuing our innovation efforts," says Marc Bédard, CEO and founder, Lion Electric.
