2023-09-05 22:18:15
The first copper foil plant for electric vehicle batteries in the country will be located in Granby. Volta Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of Solus Advanced Materials, a Korean company, is setting up in Quebec.
Quebec Premier François Legault, who was in Granby for the announcement, said he was proud to see the company settle in the province. His government will invest $150 million in the form of a loan.
For its part, Volta will invest 750 million dollars in the project.
Thus, 260 jobs will be created. This plant will export throughout North America, thinks the premier, who hopes to see the province become an international leader.
We are in the process of building, in Quebec, a world leader in the green economy. Less GHGs, more wealth. And, at the same time, we take care of the environment and we create wealth, we create exciting jobs for our young people.
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François Legault is delighted to see the Korean company settle in Quebec.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Marion Bérubé
For this announcement, Mr. Legault was notably accompanied by the Minister responsible for Regional Economic Development, Pierre Fitzgibbon, and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada, François-Philippe Champagne.
Solus Advanced Materials Chairman of the Board, Dejae Chin, was also on hand. He spoke to the media and elected officials at the start of the press conference.
We have never seen that in the history of Quebec
On the show Live with Patrice Roy On ICI Télé, Mr. Fitzgibbon defended the Granby plant project and showed optimism.
When we look at the battery industry broadly defined from extraction to battery materials […], it is a project that could reach 10 to 20 billion by the end of the year. We have never seen that in the history of Quebec unless we go back to the big dams that were built in the 1950s and 1960s with Hydro-Québec.
Mr. Fitzgibbon also highlighted the comparative advantages that attract investors in the sector to Quebec.
What we see now, the link in the chain, with the copper sheets, we will be the first North American ecosystem, which will go as far as battery materials. Ontario doesn’t have that yet. I think we’ve built through critical minerals, conversion, and I think we have the talent and obviously clean electricity. We have a comparative advantage.
Regarding Northvolt, which will be announced shortly by the government, Mr. Fitzgibbon refrained from giving details of the project and its location. He just said that it will be very big. The largest that the history of Quebec will have ever seen in the private sector, he specified.
The third plant of its kind in the world
Volta Energy Solutions already manufactures copper foil in Hungary and Luxembourg. The Granby plant will be the third of its kind and will meet growing demand from the North American market, a statement said.
Volta plans to begin production for the Canadian market in 2026 and sell its product to North American customers, a statement read. Initially, 25,000 tons of copper sheets will be manufactured per year. This figure will increase to 63,000 tons per year during the second phase of the project.
This is a historic announcement that will mark, I think, the economic future of Quebec, welcomed Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
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