François-Philippe Champagne said his confidence level is 10 out of 10 that the battery plant will get built despite the Swedish firm’s decision to launch a strategic review of its international expansion. Champagne said the question is whether the plant will be finished on schedule, as electric-vehicle batteries are a disruptive technology and may be subject to delays. (The Canadian Press)

Talking point: At a Thursday event in Montreal, Champagne expressed no regrets in providing subsidies to Northvolt, which is facing an uphill battle to compete with established battery makers like LG and CATL. Canada has received praise for its “potential to build a secure, reliable and sustainable lithium-ion battery supply chain,” but has also had to compete for investments from companies like Northvolt with billions of dollars in subsidies in light of those provided by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. Northvolt has said that its strategic review to decide “timelines and capital allocation” will be complete in the fall.