Vianode pledges $2.3 billion to make synthetic graphite in Ontario

Norway’s Vianode AS will spend C$3.2 billion ($2.3 billion) to build a new synthetic graphite factory in Canada’s most populous province, the first of its kind in North America.

The Ontario government announced the investment Thursday in St. Thomas, the city about 125 miles from Toronto where the plant will be located. It said it’s prepared to lend as much as C$670 million to the project. Vianode has also received a letter of interest for as much as $500 million in potential financing from Canada, along with $300 million from the German government.

Last month, Vianode had announced it would initially invest more than C$2 billion in the Ontario facility, with the goal of helping North America diversify away from Chinese supply.

Synthetic graphite is used in electric vehicle batteries, nuclear reactors, semiconductors, aerospace and defense systems, and steelmaking. The facility’s full annual capacity is slated to be 150,000 tons, enough to supply roughly two million electric vehicles each year.

“As demand for synthetic graphite ramps up at home and abroad, Vianode’s investment will position the province as a leading supplier for strategic industries,” Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, said in a statement.

St. Thomas is also home to a Volkswagen AG electric battery factory that is currently under construction.

(By Melissa Shin)