Windsor's EV battery plant needs a million tonnes of gravel. Here's how it will get here

More than amillion tonnes of crushed stone are on their way to Windsor-Essex as part of the new $4.9-billion electric vehicle battery plant and there's a tight deadline.

Steve Salmons, the CEO of the Windsor Port Authority, said the aggregate isbeing shipped here through the Great Lakes from four quarriesone in Michigan, one in Ohio and two in Northern Ontario.

All that materialneeds to arrive before Christmas. The partners in the project are determined to get the factory up and running by the target date of 2024, Salmons said.

LISTEN: Steve Salmons joins Windsor Morning

And as thewinter sets in, it is importantto get the base down for the plant, he said.

"Not only so they can stabilize the site...to begin the construction next year, but also the weight of the gravel itself serves not just as a solid base for the plant but it actually presses down on the earth and drives out water so that the plant base and the plant site and footings are stable for next year."

It will require more than 50 shiploads to complete the delivery, something Salmons said ismore environmentally friendly and cost effective compared with shipping it by truck alone.

After the gravel arrives in Windsor,400 truckloadsa day will be hauled to the final destination, the future plant siteon Twin Oaks Drive near Windsor International Airport.

The EV battery plant, a partnership of automaker Stellantis and LG Energy Solution announced in March, is expected to be as big as112 NHL hockey rinks.

It was the first lithium-ion electric vehicle battery plant projectannounced in Canada.

CBC News has contacted Stellantis for comment.