The Lion Electric Company, a manufacturer of all-electric medium- and heavy-duty urban vehicles, has completed production of its first lithium-ion battery pack at the company’s battery manufacturing facility located in Mirabel, Quebec.

Final certification of the first battery pack is expected in the first quarter of 2023, followed by a gradual ramp up of production in 2023. The first batteries produced in Mirabel will power the Lion5 truck and the LionAmbulance, expected to reach commercial production in the first half of 2023.

“The production of our first battery pack out of our Mirabel battery facility is an important step for Lion and should, over time, bring with it a new level of optimization for product design and production efficiency,” said Yannick Poulin, Lion’s Chief Operating Officer. “I am incredibly proud of our team for the continued advancement of this project, and I am very thankful to the Canadian and Quebec governments for their support in making it a reality.”

Lion’s new Mirabel battery manufacturing facility, once fully operational, is expected to give the Company a key market advantage, with vertical integration providing more control of supply, technology advancement, and vehicle integration. Given the battery is typically the most expensive component of an electric vehicle, this new manufacturing capability should have a direct impact on Lion’s development of medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicle platforms, while also offering important economic benefits.

At full scale, Lion’s battery manufacturing facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of five gigawatt-hours of battery capacity. The news comes as Lion has also recently celebrated the start of production at its U.S. vehicle manufacturing facility in Joliet, Illinois.

Meet 'Battery'

Meet Battery, a Lion Electric lithium-ion battery that will help power all-electric Lion buses and trucks. Its average lifespan is estimated at 20 years – compared to an estimated 13 years for the average fossil-fuel powered car. But, according to Lion, did you know that Battery will not spend all of that time on a Lion vehicle?

Its life is actually segmented into four usage stages, which, according to Lion Electric, are established relative to Battery’s energetic capacities and performance over time: 

1. After being assembled by Lion technicians, Battery’s life starts in the usage stage, or the period of time it will actively spend on a vehicle. During this period, Battery’s main purpose will consist of being charged to power the vehicle on its carbon-neutral routes, and of course powering the vehicle’s drivetrain on each of those trips. Thermal management via liquid cooling and advanced battery management keeps Battery healthy during this time.

2. Battery technology continues to advance rapidly year-over-year. Once Battery’s energetic capacities degrade a little, newer, higher-capacity batteries will be available, at which point,  Battery will move on to the permutation stage of its life. During this period, Battery will be used as a swappable secondary battery for vehicles utilized for extended periods of time.  Battery will still be able to travel carbon-neutral miles, but over a shorter distance as its energy capacity will be diminished and will require more frequent recharges, as it will lose its charge a bit more rapidly.

3. As its energy capacities reach too low of a percentage for usage and permutation, Battery is taken out of use with vehicles and is sent to a battery energy storage unit – Battery’s "retirement home," where it will be used for static energy stockage of lighter demand. Battery is still very useful at this point and can generate extensive savings through off-grid energy storage. 

4. Finally, one fateful day when degradation has eroded away at the useful energetic capacity a battery holds, Battery is taken out of use after a few decades, at which point it is recycled. As of today we can recycle 95% of the battery, but in the next 10 to 15 years we will be able to recycle 100% of battery materials.

What's the Lion5?

The Lion5 is a 100% electric ambulance, the eFX Ambulance, a collaboration between Demers Ambulances and Lion Electric. Check out the reveal from late 2021: 

Lion Electric has been busy in 2022, adding upfitter partnerships in March and announcing a strategic agreement between Dana and the electric truckmaker in May 

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