Umicore has halted construction of its US$2.7Bn pCAM/CAM facility in Ontario, Canada as market difficulties mount for the industry. The facility initially broke ground in 2023, but fresh delays come as electric vehicle sales remain sluggish in the region. 

Umicore, one of the world’s leading pCAM/CAM producers, was expected to begin production at the facility in 2025, although this announcement is now expected to push this to at least 2026. The news comes as many within the battery supply chain struggle with issues in the current market, which has seen recent headwinds associated with sluggish EV growth the past year.  

The aggressive investment and planning seen in Europe and North America the past few years has not recently been matched with an equivalent ramp in EV sales. Although domestic midstream production capacity is crucially needed over the coming years, the timing for this is critical, as inefficient operations will lead to economic instability. 

According to Project Blue’s EV & Battery Monthly, China BEV/PHEV penetration continues to rise at a reliable rate, whereas rates for North America and Europe have remained relatively flat over the past year. The expiration of subsidies in Europe, ambivalent consumer sentiment and a small pool of affordable EVs have negatively impacted uptake. As a result, the industry is facing many challenges in these two regions, which have been reflected in the recent raft of project delays and cancellations across the supply chain.  

These are often due to scaling challenges and quality issues with inexperienced producers, or in Umicore’s case, a delayed battery and midstream material demand curve. Umicore has therefore taken the difficult step to delay timelines to operations whilst it realigns its strategy in North America. It is set to release a conclusion of an internal review of operations during the first quarter of 2025.