Japanese company passes on Winnipeg for lithium-ion separator facility

A company based out of Japan called Asahi Kasei has decided to build its $1.6-billion lithium-ion battery separator manufacturing facility outside the province.

As reported in January, the company had been considering a parcel of city-owned land in Winnipeg’s west end, but in a release issued on Thursday, it announced it would be built in Ontario instead.

The proposed facility was anticipated to start construction in October. Coming in around 1,200 square metres and constructed in phases, the fully completed facility would have come online in 2030 and employed approximately 700 Manitobans.

1:21 Japanese company considering Manitoba for $1.6B lithium ion battery facility