LG Energy Solution said on the 6th that it held a completion ceremony on the 5th (local time) at the NextStar Energy plant, a standalone Canada production subsidiary located in Windsor, Ontario.
Attendees included Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Canada Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly, Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) Minister Kim Jung-kwan, and LG Energy Solution CEO Kim Dong-myung, along with officials from both governments and corporations.
NextStar Energy launched in 2022 as a joint venture between LG Energy Solution and Stellantis and began building the plant that same year. LG Energy Solution later secured 100% equity and is operating it as a standalone plant.
The plant is Canada's first and only large-scale battery manufacturing facility. With a floor area of about 390,000 square meters, it is considered a key base responsible for producing North American electric-vehicle batteries and energy storage systems (ESS). It began mass-producing cells in Nov. last year and has produced more than 1 million battery cells to date.
Since its launch in 2022, more than 5 billion Canadian dollars (about 5 trillion won) has been invested in NextStar Energy, and it currently employs about 1,300 people directly. It plans to expand hiring to about 2,500 people as production grows.
Many key government figures from Korea and Canada attended the event, a turnout attributed to the plant's strong symbolic and strategic significance. Windsor, where NextStar Energy is located, is one of Canada's leading industrial cities that grew around the auto industry. More recently, it has been pursuing an industrial shift centered on future mobility industries such as electric vehicles and batteries, seeking a renewed opportunity for growth.
The NextStar Energy plant is also seen as a symbolic project for future Korea-Canada economic cooperation. Minister Mélanie Joly said, "This advanced battery manufacturing facility will help support next-generation vehicle production, strengthen energy infrastructure, and spur the development of strategic technologies needed by partners and allies."
Minister Kim Jung-kwan emphasized that "Canada is an old friend that stood with Korea in our most difficult times," adding, "It is deeply meaningful to build the NextStar Energy plant in Ontario, one of the regions that dispatched troops to defend the freedom of the Republic of Korea and protect our people, as a symbol and milestone of industrial cooperation between the two countries."
CEO Kim Dong-myung said, "LG Energy Solution's decision to take sole management of NextStar Energy was a choice born of firm confidence," adding, "As Canada's first and only battery manufacturing facility, NextStar Energy will be a key driving force leading Canada's electrification future."