Mike from St. Thomas Economic Development is back on-site at the Yarmouth Yards Pumping Station with another construction update, and this time he's joined by Nishant for a closer look at what's happening underground.
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Since the last visit, this project has transformed from an open excavation into a serious feat of engineering. Nishant walks us through what this pumping station actually does (hint: it can move up to 200 litres of water per second), why the walls of the wet well are a full three feet thick, and how the construction team has broken the concrete pour into three carefully staged phases.

With two of those pours already complete and the final stage underway, commissioning is on track for October of this year, at which point the station will be ready to accept flows from the Yarmouth Yards industrial development site.
It's a big build, a bigger capacity, and a critical piece of infrastructure for one of the most exciting development projects St. Thomas has seen in years.

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Learn more about how the sewage treatment process works in St. Thomas.

Vianode is a Norwegian company specializing in the production of sustainable synthetic graphite for electric vehicle (EV) battery anodes. Graphite is a critical component in lithium-ion batteries, with each EV battery containing up to 100 kg of it. Vianode’s proprietary technology enables the production of high-performance synthetic graphite with up to 90% lower CO₂ emissions compared to traditional manufacturing methods.

This facility will be Vianode’s first in North America, marking a significant step in supporting the region’s rapidly growing EV market and strengthening the critical minerals supply chain.

We're back on site at the Yarmouth Yard Industrial Park with a very special update!
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Mike from St. Thomas Economic Development is joined by Burkhard Straub, CEO of Vianode. This Norwegian advanced battery materials producer has officially chosen St. Thomas, Ontario, as the home of its first large-scale North American synthetic graphite facility.

This project is big—world-scale big.

In this video, Burkhard shares:
🔹 Why graphite matters in lithium-ion batteries and the future of electromobility
🔹 How Vianode is bringing sustainable, low-emission graphite production to North America
🔹 Why St. Thomas was selected after a global site search (hint: shovel-ready lands, clean energy, strong workforce, and incredible local support!)
🔹 The company's plans to scale from 40,000 tons to 150,000 tons of synthetic graphite
🔹 How this investment will create 300+ high-quality local jobs in Phase 1—with significant economic ripple effects
🔹 What makes Vianode's closed-furnace technology 90% lower in CO₂ emissions than conventional production
🔹 How this new facility reinforces Ontario's growing EV and critical minerals supply chain
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With construction beginning soon, Vianode is setting the stage for St. Thomas—and Canada—to lead in clean, sustainable battery materials.

And yes, Mike brought shovels.
And yes, Burkhard was ready to get digging.

St. Thomas continues to lead the way in the electric vehicle (EV) industry. The City is thrilled to welcome Vianode, a Norwegian manufacturer of sustainable synthetic graphite, to Yarmouth Yards – marking their first facility in North America.