Big helicopter does heavy lifting at Windsor’s NextStar battery plant

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There was some heavy lifting being done Saturday through Monday at Windsor’s NextStar Energy battery plant as a Boeing-Vertical 234UT helicopter could be seen and heard placing large HVAC units on the roof of the cell production plant.

The twin-rotor aircraft, which is owned by Oregon-based Columbia Helicopters, is designed for use in general heavy construction, resource exploration and development and logging.

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Based on the military models of the Chinook helicopter, the aircraft is capable of lifting up to 12,700 kilograms on a single hook with a top speed of 269 km/h; has a range of 1,010 km and an operational ceiling height of 4,570 metres.

The aircraft, which is powered by a pair of Avco Lycoming turboshaft engines, was first used in December 1980 to service the U.K.’s offshore North Sea oil industry.

The multibillion-dollar NextStar Energy plant started producing battery modules in October and is scheduled to begin manufacturing complete battery cells for automaker Stellantis in the summer of 2025.

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