These details, published in separate reports last week, reflect the different ways the two projects are positioned in North America’s shifting EV marketplace

In a tale of diverging ambitions, Volkswagen’s PowerCo battery gigafactory in St. Thomas, Ont., remains “fully on track” to begin production in 2027, while the Northvolt gigafactory on Montreal’s South Shore is facing a 12-to-18-month delay that will push its launch into 2028.

Both updates, attributed to company and government sources, were published last week in separate reports by the London Free Press and La Presse.

According to the first of those stories, published in the London Free Press on Aug. 28, PowerCo Canada officials sent the paper an email statement which read, in part: “The ramp-up of gigafactory St. Thomas is fully on track…We aim to produce the first cells in 2027, followed by demand-based ramp-up of mass production.”

Signs of a slowdown in the overall EV transition, coupled with the news that Umicore, a key future supplier of cathode materials in the region and a PowerCo partner, has delayed the start of its plant near Kingston, Ont., had stoked speculation that the $20-billion St. Thomas project’s opening might be pushed back a year. But thus far, at least, this is not the case.

Different story in Quebec

In Quebec, however, a different story appears to be taking shape. In July, Northvolt announced it was conducting a strategic review of its global operations and timelines, while also stating that it remained committed to moving forward with its $7-billion Quebec gigafactory.

Now, while the review is ongoing, the company shared a statement with La Presse last week that referred to a possible “reassessment of the schedules.”

Pierre Fitzgibbon, Quebec’s Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, was even more forthcoming, telling La Presse: “From what I was hearing from [Northvolt] management, they were talking about a 12- to 18-month delay. I think we can assume that there’s going to be a 12- to 18-month delay.”

According to this report, the delays aren’t entirely about the market, but also due to the length of time it has taken Northvolt to obtain all the government permits it needs to fully develop the massive project.

Further details are expected when Northvolt announces the results of its operational review in the coming weeks.

Next steps for PowerCo, meanwhile, include formal identification of some of the project’s key suppliers. Those decisions are expected to spur a second wave of new construction in the St. Thomas area as soon as they are announced.