OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada’s industry minister is optimistic about reaching a deal with carmaker Stellantis over subsidies to build a battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, provided that the provincial government also offers some support, he said on Tuesday.
Stellantis stopped construction at a C$5 billion ($3.7 billion) electric-vehicle battery plant in Canada, which is being built in partnership with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES), while in talks with the federal government.
“I’m very confident that we will come to an agreement,” Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters at a press conference in Seoul.
Talks with the company are ongoing, he said, adding that it was important that the Ontario provincial government “pay its fair share”.
Champagne said he would meet LGES management during his short visit to South Korea.
Stellantis and LGES announced their battery plant investment last year, but tensions developed between the company and Canada after the country agreed in April to provide up to C$13 billion in subsidies and a C$700 million grant to lure German automaker Volkswagen AG to build its North American battery plant in the country.
(Reporting by Steve SchererEditing by Andrew Heavens and David Goodman)
