The Nouveau Monde Graphite mine and future battery material factory in Bécancour obtained the requested energy block from Hydro-Québec at a price lower than the ordinary industrial rate (L rate).
“We have obtained a discount on the regular industrial rate for our two future operating sites,” said company spokesperson Julie Paquet.
Nouveau Monde Graphite wants to process the graphite extracted from its Saint-Michel-des-Saints mine in Bécancour to transform it into anode material for lithium-ion batteries.
Its project, the cost of which is estimated at 400 million for the mine and 900 million for the Bécancour factory, is one of the 11 industrial projects recently accepted by the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, assures Ms. Paquet. The Quebec government says it is overwhelmed by requests from companies who want to establish themselves in Quebec, attracted by its cheap renewable electricity, and it must therefore make choices.
“The electricity block awarded will allow the establishment of a fully integrated advanced manufacturing platform in Bécancour, at the heart of Quebec’s battery industry, for the transformation of graphite into active anode material,” the company indicated. . The extent of the discount granted was not specified.
In addition to having agreed favorable electricity rates to the company, Hydro-Québec will build a reserved electrical line to connect the Saint-Michel-des-Saints mine to its main network.
Always with the aim of reducing the environmental footprint of its activities, Nouveau Monde Graphite is working with Caterpillar to develop electric mining equipment and suitable charging structures.
Battery manufacturers are potential customers for the anode material that will come out of the future Bécancour factory, including Northvolt, whose establishment in Quebec has just been announced with great fanfare, said the spokesperson for the company.
The company plans to increase the number of agreements of this type, which will help it raise the financing required to start its commercial activities.
“We are already very advanced,” said Ms. Paquet about the search for financing. The first commercial deliveries of anode material are expected to begin 18 months after financing closes, it said.
Listed on the Vancouver Venture Exchange, shares of Nouveau Monde Graphite have fluctuated between $2.95 and $8 over the past year.
