Representatives from Clariant and Süd-Chemie, as well as Canadian and Québec government officials, on Monday celebrated the official opening of a new battery materials manufacturing plant at Phostech Lithium a Clariant group company.

The plant produces carbon coated lithium iron phosphate (C-LiFePO4) a high performance energy storage material used in batteries for electric vehicle drives, stationary energy storage and other applications. The facility will create more than 50 new jobs, helping to contributing to stimulate the regional economy.

The Phostech Lithium facility produces Life Power P2 C-LiFePO4, a safe, high-power cathode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles, solar and wind energy storage and power tools.

To meet the sharply increasing worldwide demand for Life Power P2, Süd-Chemie - which acquired Phostech Lithium in 2008 - invested CAD $78 million in the Candiac facility, boosting global capacity by 2,500 metric tons per year.

The project received a CAD $7.4 million grant for construction and equipment from the Québec Government through Investissement Québec. Additional funding included a CAD $4.7 million grant from the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a CAD $1 million loan from Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Québec (CED) and CAD $250,000 from Emploi-Quebéc for worker training.The new plant has already provided an economic boost to Candiac.