Northvolt's problems echo in the corridors of Quebec and Ottawa

Premier François Legault did not answer questions about whether he still believed in the Northvolt project in Quebec on Wednesday, while in Ottawa, federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne continued to display cautious optimism on the issue.

Although the Swedish company has maintained in recent weeks that its Montérégie plant project will go ahead, a number of reports suggest that it is experiencing serious financial difficulties.

Northvolt is even considering filing for bankruptcy protection, according to some media, including the Reuters news agency.

In Quebec City, a journalist questioned Legault on the subject in the corridors of the National Assembly on Wednesday morning.

She asked the premier if he had “implied that he no longer believed in the Northvolt project.”

“I just said I was waiting for information,” said Legault.

When asked by The Canadian Press whether he had received the information in question, the premier curtly replied “no.”

Later, during question period, Liberal opposition leader Marc Tanguay pointed out that his opponent was dodging questions about the Northvolt file.

“Not a word about Northvolt,” he said. “$710 million of Quebecers taxpayers’ money sent to Quebec City by the sweat of their brows, $710 million, not a word about Northvolt.”

Caution and confidence

In Ottawa, Champagne repeated the words “prudence” and “confidence” several times during a press scrum.

“We need to be cautious,” he said. “As I was saying about the information that is the information that is circulating, because there is a lot of it.”

“But also confidence, because in the long term, I think it is in the economic and strategic interest, not only of Canada, but also of our European partners, to have a North American battery plant because the largest market for motor vehicles is here, in North America,” he added, suggesting that he assumed that Northvolt's Quebec operations would be spared, despite the company's financial difficulties.

“What happens in Europe is one thing, what happens in North America is another,” added the minister, echoing recent comments by Northvolt North America CEO Paolo Cerruti.

Three weeks ago, speaking at the “International Conference on Advanced Lithium Batteries for Organised Automotive Applications,” he admitted that the Swedish company was going through a “difficult” and “critical” period.

He repeated that Northvolt is in Quebec “to stay,” but at the same time indicated that it was not known how the restructuring of the Swedish company would affect the Montérégie plant's plans and schedule.

In September, Northvolt had announced the dismissal of 1,600 employees in Sweden, a fifth of its workforce, illustrating the financial difficulties facing the company.

Recently, the company also sold its site in Borlange, Sweden, where it was to build a factory for cathode materials, the positive terminal of a battery.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 20, 2024.