The 2024 Canadian Law Awards recently recognized our role in Umicore’s investment in Ontario by building a first-of-kind, world-leading and net-zero EV battery components factory as a Deal of the Year. This award highlights our expertise in collaborating across practice groups, the cross-team efforts of our Montréal and Toronto offices and our involvement in the cutting-edge industry of electric vehicles.

Umicore SV/NV is a circular materials technology company headquartered in Belgium. The new manufacturing plant is being constructed in Loyalist Township and will be 100% fuelled by renewable energy from the start of production. As a leading global supplier of low-carbon battery materials, Umicore is helping drive global decarbonization, responsibly sourcing raw materials and contributing to the goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across global operations.

Selected as a Deal of the Year based on legal work, size, complexity, breadth and innovation, this complex deal involved strategic planning and innovative thinking, plus the coordination of multiple parties, including the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario and Loyalist Township. Umicore developed a comprehensive environmental, employment, health and safety and regulatory compliance framework to ensure its operations meet the highest standards of sustainability, quality and performance. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in speaking about the deal, said it is a “major step forward [in making] Canada a global leader in producing electric vehicles.”

The Davies team, lead counsel to Umicore and led by Elise Beauregard, involved 43 lawyers and legal staff from several practice areas, including Pawel Mielcarek, Steven Willard (Infrastructure and Commercial Real Estate); Nicholas Williams and Caroline Ménard (Project Finance); Sarah Powell (Environment); Michael Kandev (Tax); Franziska Ruf (Corporate and Governance); Mark Katz (Foreign Investment); and Sumeet Dang (Privacy and Technology).