The Lion Electric Company has announced that it has completed production of its first lithium-ion battery pack at the company’s battery manufacturing facility located in Mirabel, Quebec.
Final certification of the first battery pack is expected in the first quarter of 2023, followed by a gradual ramp up of production in 2023.
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Lion intends for the first batteries produced in Mirabel to power the Lion5 truck and the LionAmbulance, which is expected to reach commercial production in the first half of 2023.
“The production of our first battery pack out of our Mirabel battery facility is an important step for Lion and should, over time, bring with it a new level of optimization for product design and production efficiency,” said Yannick Poulin, Lion’s chief operating officer. “I am incredibly proud of our team for the continued advancement of this project, and I am very thankful to the Canadian and Quebec governments for their support in making it a reality.”
According to the company, it expects the new Mirabel battery manufacturing facility, once fully operational, to facilitate a key market advantage, with vertical integration providing more control of supply, technology advancement and vehicle integration.
Also, given the battery is typically the most expensive component of an electric vehicle, the company claims that this new manufacturing capability should have a direct impact on Lion’s development of medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicle platforms, while also offering important economic benefits.
At full scale, Lion’s battery manufacturing facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of five gigawatt-hours of battery capacity. This news comes shortly after Lion’s celebrated the start of production at its US vehicle manufacturing facility in Joliet, Illinois.
