Canoo announced Nov. 2 it will build electric vehicle battery modules at a renovated facility in the MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor, OK.
The new facility is expected to expand Canoo’s manufacturing and employment footprint in the region as it continues to ramp production of its electric vehicles. The factory will be capable of approximately 320 MWh of battery module capacity, or .320 GWh.
The battery facility will be located in the same complex as Canoo’s MegaMicro Factory, which will include a paint shop, body shop and general assembly plant when it is finished.
Canoo announced earlier this year it will use Panasonic as a battery cell supplier. The 100,000-square foot facility is set to be renovated in Q4, with manufacturing equipment arriving in Q1 2023.
Canoo will produce proprietary battery modules on a series of high-capacity assembly lines with state-of-the-art machinery. The company said it has already refined and validated battery module manufacturing processes over the past few months and is waiting for the manufacturing equipment to be delivered to the facility.
“We are accelerating our hiring plans in Pryor with the establishment of our EV Battery Module Manufacturing Facility, which will produce our proprietary battery modules, energy management system and thermal control technology for our MPP platform,” Canoo Chairman and CEO Tony Aquila said. “This is the first building block for Canoo’s production ramp strategy, with more news coming very soon.
"The location has been strategically selected due to its proximity to our battery cell partner Panasonic and our future MegaMicro factory," Aquila said. "In addition, we will be the first EV company to produce our battery modules with Hydro-Power from the Grand River Dam Authority. We will work closely with and hire within the surrounding communities to create an EV Ecosystem in the region.”
Canoo has secured numerous orders for its Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDVs), most notably from Walmart, which ordered 4,500 units earlier this year. The agreement between Canoo and Walmart outlines an option for the supermarket chain to buy up to 10,000 units later. The LDV is expected to be on the road by 2023.
Canoo is expected to employ more than 2,000 people at its facilities when completed.
Abby Andrews