Lion Electric has inaugurated its Mirabel, Que., plant where it will produce lithium-ion batteries for its trucks and buses.

The 175,000 sq.-ft. facility is located near the Mirabel airport. The batteries produced there will go into vehicles produced in Saint-Jerome, Que., and Joliet, lll.

“I am incredibly proud that we have reached this significant milestone in Lion Electric’s journey,” said company founder and CEO Marc Bedard.

“This official opening celebrates the culmination of several years of efforts that now allow us to control the manufacturing and integration of one of the fundamental components in the production of electric vehicles and the electrification of transportation – namely the battery. With this new facility, Lion will be able to strengthen its leadership role in the electrification of the transportation ecosystem in Canada and the United States. We look forward to continuing our innovation efforts.”

The plant produced its first battery pack at the end of last year, with final certification of the pack expected in the first half of this year. Production is being ramped up gradually, the company says. At full scale, it’s expected to have an annual production capacity of 5 gigawatt hours, enough to power about 14,000 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles per year.