The new battery plant in Becancour, Que. marks SNC-Lavalin's first major mandate in the electric vehicle battery market. PHOTO courtesy Ford.
SNC-Lavalin, a professional services and project management company, has been awarded an initial works contract by EcoProBM to design and build one of Canada’s largest Cathode Active Material (CAM) plants in Bécancour, Québec.
The initial works contract is worth approximately $141 million, and represents SNC-Lavalin’s first major mandate in the electric vehicle (EV) battery market in Canada.
“With a unique endowment of critical minerals, an established manufacturing and industrial base, and a largely decarbonized and expanding power grid, Canada has an opportunity to establish an end-to-end supply chain that can support growing domestic and international EV demand,” commented Ian L. Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, SNC-Lavalin. “SNC-Lavalin is strongly positioned to support governments and manufacturers and deliver on the diverse pipeline of opportunities arising from the EV revolution, both in Canada and around the world, with our unique end-to-end capabilities that span across industries like mining, industrial & manufacturing, and clean power, all of which support the battery and EV markets.”
SNC-Lavalin’s Engineering Services groups will provide EcoProBM with initial concept design, basic design, and project management and delivery related to the establishment of the plant.
Cathode Active Material & EcoProBM’s Plant
For electric vehicles, CAM is a key battery component. It represents about 40 per cent of the cost of a battery cell.
EcoProBM, the global top high nickel cathode active material maker, has formed a joint venture with Ford Motor Co. and the world’s leading cell maker SK On Co., to establish the $1.3 billion dollar CAM plant in the Bécancour Industrial Park, located between Quebec City and Montreal. Canada represents EcoProBM’s second overseas factory. Production of the three lines is expected to begin in April 2026. This plant will have a production capacity of 45,000 tonnes per year.
“EcoProBM’s team has been working with SNC-Lavalin for over 15 months on previous contracts in a fully collaborative approach. SNC-Lavalin’s project team has demonstrated their knowhow, vision and ability to respond & adjust to the requirements of fast-moving project objectives. Our teams collaborated on developing all technical and planning needs for a fast-track design-build full delivery project. We made an excellent choice in selecting SNC-Lavalin as preferred partner for our first CAM project in North America, fully entrusting them to deliver the project to our full expectations,” said Sang-Young OH, Managing Director in Global strategy & Planning at EcoProBM.
