South Korea’s DongShin Motech will supply LG Energy Solutions and Stellantis with aluminium battery casings to boost the EV market in Windsor

Previously this month, DongShin Motech Ltd, a South-Korean vehicular component provider, signed a letter of intent with the Windsor-Essex authorities declaring an investment of $60 million (expandable to $90 million) for the construction of a 170,000 square-feet battery casing factory that will generate 300 jobs.

LG Energy Solutions and Stellantis claimed in March 2022 that they had to form a $5 billion battery cell manufacturing joint venture, called NextStar Energy, which needs a direct supply of aluminium battery casings for lithium-ion EV batteries. These casings are usually high-thermal power resistant, shock-absorbent and lightweight. DongShin has also shared that it is beginning its journey with Stellantis, yet that won’t stop the company from expanding its wings across North America.

Choon Woo Lim the CEO of Dongshin declared in a press release: “To supply our local customers, we are pleased that Windsor will be the home of our first North American manufacturing facility. Dongshin Motech has a history of producing highly specialized components to support global automotive clients, and we are pleased to bring our skills and expertise to Canada.”

During the last six months, rising demand for EV battery components across the Windsor-Essex circuit of automotive production has prevailed. Ontario has reported investments amounting to billions of dollars regarding the EV battery supply chain.

To promptly act their part, the Windsor city officials specifically mentioned during the DongShin declaration that there is “more than adequate” electricity to run the DongShin plant.

Founded in 1995, Dongshin has an employee roll of 600 globally, with many of its existing facilities in Poland and an extended customer base in Asia and Europe. This plant in Windsor will be Dongshin’s first activity unit based in North America.

DongShin’s social media pages describe the company as a “Tier 1 Automotive Body Parts Supplier for Renault SM Korea, Nissan Japan and its subsidiary in Pune, India…the Tier 1 Body Parts Supplier for GM, VW, TATA, Benteler.”

The president and chief executive officer of Invest WindsorEssex, Stephen MacKenzie, who had made headlines with controversial comments in May about the city losing a $2-billion contract owing to lack of electricity supply, in a press release talked about the DongShin deal: “Today’s announcement is significant and vital to the execution of our overall strategy. Each investment attraction opportunity is an incredibly competitive process.”

Windsor’s Economic Revitalisation Community improvement Plan will aid DongShin with a proper energy supply cycle and further incentives to run the firm.

To keep up with the EV-based environment in Canada, DongShin will collaborate with LG energy solutions, Stellantis and Flex-n-Gate, whose services now feature R&D (Flex-n-Gate) to battery cell production (Stellantis/LGES).

The Windsor Mayor, Drew Dilkens, proudly stated: “Dongshin Motech’s investment in our community proves that Windsor is on the move.”

“We’re competing and we are winning the race to attract investment, create great local jobs and build an EV battery manufacturing base,” he added.

The DongShin unit would reside on a state-owned plot near the Windsor airport, with the company forecasting that the project will end by September 2023. Commercial deliveries to the Stellantis plant will begin in the spring of 2024.