The Detroit automaker said it will construct a battery-cathode plant with SK On and EcoProBM. The facility will receive $644 million in government funding: half through the federal Strategic Innovation Fund, and the remaining as a partially forgivable loan from Investissement Québec. (The Logic, La Presse)

Talking point: It’s the automaker’s first-ever investment in Quebec after 119 years in Canada and EcoProBM’s first North American investment. The announcement comes as Ford is under pressure to diversify its domestic battery supply chain away from China’s CATL. The new three-million-square-foot Bécancour plant will employ about 345 people and supply cathode active materials for up to 225,000 electric vehicles yearly starting in 2026. The Logic reported in June that Canadian officials were also courting South Korea’s SK to build other types of battery-materials plants in Canada, including copper foil for EV battery anodes or battery separators. South Korea ambassador Lim Woong Soon said at a press conference Thursday that Ford’s cathode deal comes as Canadian-South Korean relations have strengthened.