Construction of the NextStar Energy electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in Windsor is now 87 per cent complete.
Sean Thibeault, project director for A-BM, the company managing construction of the facility, told AM800's Mornings with Mike and Meg that he expects it will be open for production early in the third quarter of 2025.
Construction of the nearly 4.23 million square foot joint venture with parent companies Stellantis and LG Energy Solution began in August 2022.
Construction of the plant recently surpassed 6.5 million manhours and is averaging 2,500 tradespeople on site each day.
Thibeault says it's an incredible pace of construction, and they could not be accomplishing this pace without the City of Windsor or the Ontario government.
"Personally, this is the quickest timing I've ever experienced in terms of permit reviews and approvals at all levels," he says. "This project would not be a success without their support day in and day out. We actually have a couple of members of the City of Windsor building department sit with us day in and day out on the project, helping this thing be successful."
Once complete, the plant aims to have an annual production capacity of 49.5 gigawatt hours and will create an estimated 2,500 new jobs in Windsor and the surrounding areas.
NextStar will produce leading-edge lithium-ion battery cells and modules, representing approximately 40 per cent of Stellantis' electric vehicle production requirements in North America.