Battery sector | Quebec confirms discussions with Panasonic

The Legault government is indeed in talks with Panasonic in the hope of installing Quebec within the ecosystem of the Japanese multinational, which is scrutinizing North America as it plans to build a battery factory for electric vehicles.

Julien Arsenault
The Press

Several issues are at the heart of discussions between Quebec and the conglomerate based in Osaka, confirmed Tuesday the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, during an interview on the sidelines of an economic announcement in Montreal.

“Panasonic is looking at North America as a very important market,” he says. They were met by the Ministry of the Economy and Investissement Québec. »

The Press reported Monday that Quebec was on the radar of Panasonic – a preferred supplier of Tesla – as part of its efforts in the North American market and that the charm operation, in which the Trudeau government is participating, was not over.

“For sure if they do a battery factory in the United States or anywhere, there are cathodes (the main element of the battery in an electric car) anodes, recycling and research. »

Despite the progress made in recent months, Quebec has not yet succeeded in convincing a cell manufacturer to establish itself on its territory, unlike Ontario with Stellantis and LG. It’s only a matter of time, however, say two sources inside the battery industry who are not authorized to speak publicly at this stage.

If the Legault government hopes to convince the company to join the ranks of the battery industry, a cell factory on Quebec soil is not in the plans at this stage, specifies Mr. Fitzgibbon.

“We are trying to convince Panasonic,” he adds. Even if it’s not the cell factory, there are going to be other things. »

The minister did not specify whether other exchanges are planned with the Japanese conglomerate in the short term. This summer, the Federal Minister for Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, will visit representatives of the multinational as part of a trip to Japan.

Mr. Fitzgibbon will not be part of this delegation.

Quebec wants projects at all stages, from the extraction of resources such as graphite and lithium spodumene (mining projects), the transformation of material into battery quality components, the manufacture of anodes and cathodes (the the most expensive part of the battery), the assembly of battery cells and the manufacture of modules.