It's seemingly the only race that matters right now.
The rush to electrify one's fleet is almost palpable in America. The trend continues to dominate headlines.
And legacy automaker General Motors (GM) is trying every possible course of action in order to achieve its targets.
GM also recently got acknowledged for its ambitious electric vehicle goals in President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, last week, along with rival Ford (F).
"GM is making the largest investment in its history — $7 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 4,000 jobs in Michigan," Biden noted in his first State of the Union address on March 1.
Biden did not mention electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) but then that shouldn't really come as a surprise to people if you've been following Musk on Twitter.
The two companies were lauded for their efforts toward job creation and their stellar investments meant to boost the U.S. economy, which may slip into a slowdown due to rising inflation and the fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine that will enter its second week on Thursday.
Canada Battery Materials Plant
GM and South Korea's Posco Chemical will build a new $400 million battery plant in the buzzing French-inflected Canadian city of Quebec in order to meet its target of building 1 million electric vehicles in North America by the end of 2025.
Batteries are the lynchpin of the electric vehicle industry.
Situated in the city of Bécancour, located at the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River, GM's plant will produce raw materials needed to make an EV battery.
Specifically the plant will produce cathode active material, the most costly part of EV batteries, which will power electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq.
The cathode represents about 40% of the cost of every EV battery cell. It contains processed nickel, lithium and other materials
Construction on the new facility, which the joint venture will operate, will begin immediately and will create approximately 200 jobs, the companies said.
The move will help the automaker circumvent any potential battery and raw materials related supply chain shortages, as a result of the fallout of the Russia-Ukraine war.
"GM and our supplier partners are creating a new, more secure and more sustainable ecosystem for EVs, built on a foundation of North American resources, technology and manufacturing expertise,” said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president for global product development, purchasing and supply chain .
“Canada is playing an important role in our all-electric future, and we are grateful for the strong support we have received from local, provincial and national officials to grow a North American-focused EV value chain," Parks added in a statement.
Posco Chemical is GM's joint venture partner in this deal.
"Posco Chemical is set to expand battery material supplying capability across North America through establishing a cathode material plant in Canada,” said Chief Executive Min Kyung-Zoon in a statement.
“We will lead the successful transition to the EV era by further strengthening the strategic partnership with GM and securing a production line with world-class technological competitiveness," he added.
