Welcome to Canada, the land of free roads, cheap gas – and the world’s least fuel-eff

[Guest]

They are only good for city driving otherwise they run on gas on the highways
Two here and they show 18 litres per hundred

[Guest]

And still have the cold battery problem

[furrowtickler]

Trying hard to find a 3L Duramax , like hens teeth

[Hamloc]

Lots of very expensive high end ICE trucks on the road that cost a fortune to own and operate. But cost and fuel efficiency seems not to be much of a concern if you look at truck consumer behaviour.

Toyota is going to offer a range of low emission vehicles options including full EVs and hybrids so that you can choose the best fit for your needs and location.

With the new solid state panasonic battery technology coming in 2027 range will increase and charging time will decrease.

Chuck2 is it solid state batteries that VW and Stellantis are planning to build in Ontario? Always future solutions Chuck2, never in the present!?!? Always computer models not real numbers. And when I present real numbers like coal generation plant construction in China, nothing but crickets!!

[sumdumguy]

Hybrid Jeep will make it from White City to almost Lumsden on a charge.

[jazz]

Remember when chuck was crying about subsidies for the O&G sector. Now we are bailing out Ford who will lose $4.5B dollars this year on its EV fantasy.

[chuckChuck]

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-ford-others-to-build-12-billion-battery-materials-plant-in-becancour/

Ford, others to build $1.2-billion battery materials plant in Bécancour, Que.
Andrew Willis
Published Yesterday
Updated 2 hours ago

Ford Motor Co. F-N +0.17%increase
and two major South Korean industrial companies are making Quebec a key jurisdiction in their North American electric-vehicle manufacturing strategies, committing Thursday to building a $1.2-billion battery parts factory, backed by $644-million in government funding.

Ford, EcoProBM and SK ON Co. Ltd. announced plans to build a cathode manufacturing facility in Bécancour, Que., a city of 15,000 that has emerged as an EV supply chain hub. The factory is expected to open in 2026, with the capacity to make components for batteries in approximately 45,000 Ford vehicles each year.

“We’re pleased to be investing in these new facilities to create a vertically integrated, closed-loop battery assembly supply chain in North America,” Bev Goodman, chief executive officer of Ford of Canada, said in a news release. “We’re excited for the opportunity for our first-ever investment in Québec with a new facility that will help shape the EV ecosystem there.”

The federal and Quebec governments each committed $322-million to the project. The federal funding is a conditional contribution from the Strategic Innovation Fund, while the province granted a partially forgivable loan through government agency Investissement Québec.

General Motors Co. GM-N +0.30%increase
, South Korea’s Posco Holdings Inc. and Germany’s BASF SE have also announced plans to invest in Bécancour battery plants as part of a strategy to shorten EV supply chains. China-based manufacturers currently dominate production of batteries and their raw materials.

“We are building the foundations of an industry that will allow Quebec to become a leader in the green economy in North America,” Quebec Premier François Legault said. Bécancour is on the St. Lawrence River, roughly halfway between Montreal and Quebec City, and features a deep-water port, rail lines and highway access.

EcoProBM will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Bécancour factory, which is expected to employ 345 workers. The plant will produce components made with nickel, cobalt and manganese, which the company said will offer better performance and improved EV range compared with existing rechargeable batteries.

How the EV battery boom could change Bécancour, a quiet corner of Quebec, forever

The Quebec plant marks the Korean company’s first investment in North America. It began expanding globally two years ago by building a facility in Hungary. In a news release, EcoProBM CEO Jae-hwan Joo said: “We also are prepared to contribute to the community in Canada and Quebec, and contribute to the development of the local economy, including by hiring locally.”

Federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne pitched Canadian expansion to EcoProBM and SK ON executives during two Asia trips over the past year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also met with EcoProBM’s leaders during his visit to South Korea in May.

In a news release, Mr. Champagne said: “We are strengthening Quebec’s key position in the electric vehicle supply chain, while continuing to build Canada’s battery ecosystem.”

SK ON has three North American factories, in Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration made attracting investment in manufacturing – through tax breaks and subsidies – a key component of the Inflation Reduction Act, enacted last year.

In November, South Korean conglomerate LG Corp. announced plans to spend US$3-billion on North America’s largest cathode factory, in Tennessee. LG’s plant will be approximately three times the size of the proposed Bécancour facility.

Bécancour’s emergence as an EV centre defies the automakers’ historic tendency to locate Canadian factories in Ontario. In April, Ford committed $1.8-billion to retooling its plant in Oakville, Ont., for EV production. Belgian metals refiner Umicore SA, Volkswagen and Chrysler parent Stellantis NV are also building battery facilities in Ontario, with federal and provincial government support.

Ford is midway through a five-year plan to spend US$22-billion on EV production, and has rolled out electric versions of its bestselling vehicles, including the Mustang and F-150 pickup. In a recent report, analysts at RBC Capital Markets said the automaker is sacrificing short-term profitability to build EV market share and move inventory.

Ford recently walked back forecasts that profits from EV sales would match those of its internal combustion engine vehicles by the end of this year. However, the company committed to earning an 8-per-cent profit margin on EVs by 2026, a return comparable to its traditional automotive division.

EV market leader Tesla Inc. TSLA-Q -2.83%decrease
began cutting prices on many models earlier this year. Ford fought back this summer by slashing prices on its flagship Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning pickup models. Ford cut the base price of the electric version of the country’s bestselling truck by up to $15,000, lowering the base price of an F-150 Lightning to $59,000, and dropped the price of an electric Mustang by up to $11,000.

In addition to building an EV manufacturing sector, Quebec is home to two planned lithium mines, which will produce the raw material for batteries. The Nemaska property, owned by Philadelphia-based Livent Corp. and Investissement Québec, is expected to begin producing in 2024, while a project near James Bay owned by Australia’s Allkem Ltd. is scheduled to open in 2026.
Sign up for the Energy Newsletter


Follow Andrew Willis on Twitter: @Willis_andrewOpens in a new window

[furrowtickler]

Why have you not bought a full EV yet ?

[furrowtickler]

Yup , crickets.
Yell at everyone else to ditch ICE vehicles and buy EV’s …… but had a “hybrid” so thinks himself a god to preach to everyone else
Your still using fossil fuels you extreme hypocrite
All your farm machinery still uses and will use diesel for the next 20 years, and yet you yell at everyone for being a hypocrite, absolutely a definition of an extreme delusional narcissist

[chuckChuck]

PHEV thats what I have. What do you think the EV stands for? You got nothing better to do than nit pick a small detail? LOL

Several posters have agreed a PHEV is the way to go at the moment.

At this point full EVs are on the expensive side and charging infrastructure is not as numerous as it needs to be. That will change.

Next vehicle will likely be a full EV.

For all the other farm machinery there are basically no alternatives to diesel.

But what have you done to reduce your carbon emissions? Please do tell.

[Hamloc]

PHEV thats what I have. What do you think the EV stands for? You got nothing better to do than nit pick a small detail? LOL

Several posters have agreed a PHEV is the way to go at the moment.

At this point full EVs are on the expensive side and charging infrastructure is not as numerous as it needs to be. That will change.

Next vehicle will likely be a full EV.

For all the other farm machinery there are basically no alternatives to diesel.

But what have you done to reduce your carbon emissions? Please do tell.

Chuck2, I thought I would follow the example of some European countries. I quit using my propane barbecue and bought a wood pellet smoker barbecue. I figured if the Europeans consider burning wood pellets to generate electricity is green I should do the same when cooking myself a hamburger. Funny thing though, when I used my propane barbecue the burners emitted no visible smoke but my pellet barbecue puts out a fair bit of smoke. It got me thinking, maybe burning wood pellets to generate electricity isn’t so green after all. Sure makes for a tasty steak though😀

[chuckChuck]

Chuck2, I thought I would follow the example of some European countries. I quit using my propane barbecue and bought a wood pellet smoker barbecue. I figured if the Europeans consider burning wood pellets to generate electricity was green I should do the same when cooking myself a hamburger. Funny thing though, when I used my propane barbecue the burners emitted no visible smoke but my pellet barbecue puts out a fair bit of smoke. It got me thinking, maybe burning wood pellets to generate electricity isn’t so green after all. Sure makes for a tasty steak though😀

No burning wood to make electricity is a bad idea.

Better to go wind, solar, and other renewable sources and existing hydro along with storage.

EVs are great storage.

Our PHEV costs about $4 per 100km using electricity at 15 cents a Kwh vs gas at about $8 per 100km.

With my solar electricity, the cost per kwh is 8 cents and cost per 100km is about $2.00 per 100 km. 25% of the cost of gas!

[AlbertaFarmer5]

No burning wood to make electricity is a bad idea.

Better to go wind, solar, and other renewable sources and existing hydro along with storage.

!

Gee, I wonder why the Europeans and British never thought of that before they changed the rules in the middle of the game to designate wood chips as Carbon Neutral and renewable?

Perhaps they didn't take your expert advice because they actually need baseload power which solar and wind cannot provide, you and your tree hugger friends won't allow any new hydro to be built, and battery backup at scale doesn't exist?

[furrowtickler]

This picture says it all …..


Blaming the average middle class person on climate change simply working for living is so pathetic when one thinks about what really goes on in this world

[chuckChuck]

This picture says it all …..


Blaming the average middle class person on climate change simply working for living is so pathetic when one thinks about what really goes on in this world

So Furrow are you going to stop selling your crops to the world and just sell them to local customers?

And also stop buying anything from China and other offshore suppliers?

For sure we need to concentrate on supplying our local markets with local supplies.

But that would mean changing the rules of the free market Because the whole economic trade system is based on global supply chains.