Bad news comes in threes..After the Canadian government lavished billions in subsidies to lure Volkswagen and Stellantis to build EV battery plants in Canada, a similar deal is reportedly in the works to compel Swedish manufacturer Northvolt to build a factory near Montreal..Bloomberg reported Thursday that Northvolt is close to signing a $7 billion deal with the government’s of Canada and Quebec to build the facility, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.. Volkswagen EV plantArtis rendition of Volkswagen EV plant in St. Thomas ON. .It would be the latest EV cash grab after the federal and Ontario governments showered Volkswagen with $13 billion to build a plant. Stellantis then demanded similar treatment; its own deal is could potentially be worth as much as $19 billion according to analysts. .Northvolt, which says its mission is to “make oil history,” as per its website, is one of Europe’s largest EV battery makers, supplying cells for the likes of Volvo, BMW and indeed, Volkswagen..It's been common knowledge for months that it has actively been exploring US and Canadian expansion options for its new factories..“Northvolt is exploring the opportunity to build and operate battery production in North America (design, development and production of batteries), and is therefore in dialogue with the federal government,” according to an entry in the Canadian federal lobby register back in March. .In Canada, all lobbying efforts — even initial preliminary talks on the construction of a factory, including possible subsidy packages — must be registered. For example, VW CEO Oliver Blume is also registered as a lobbyist in Canada..Electric Autonomy Canada writes it has checked the lobby registers of all Canadian provinces and found links to Northvolt only in Quebec..If so, it would be the latest salvo in a “clean energy arms race” between the US and Canadian governments over lavish subsidies in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)..Last week the US Department of Energy doled out US$9.2 billion to Ford to build three EV assembly and battery factories in Kentucky and Tennessee under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act..The state governments of Kentucky and Tennessee also agreed to chip in some $2.7 billion for the three factories that are expected to create 7,500 jobs..Though it was structured as a loan, it was the largest ever outlay from the DOE in its history which was also responsible for the infamous Sloyndra bankruptcy in 2011. However, its $465 million loan helped Tesla open its first factory in 2010.
