While the Legault government yesterday refused to make the slightest comment, the Parti Québécois said it was “very concerned” to learn that one of the main architects of the electric battery sector in Quebec had left Investissement Québec (IQ) to go into business.
• Read also: One of the great architects of the battery industry leaves IQ
Yesterday, The newspaper revealed that Karim Zaghib, one of the most respected researchers on the planet for his breakthroughs in electrochemistry and energy transition, had left his position as strategic advisor to IQ, after launching in the United States, in all discretion, his own company in the lithium-ion battery sector.
Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin
Karim Zaghib, Quebec researcher
This 18-month stint followed a prolific career of more than 20 years at the Hydro-Québec Research Institute (IREQ) and as CEO of the Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage (CEETSE) in ‘Hydro-Quebec.
New disaster apprehended
“Are we reliving the in-wheel motor disaster? said the PQ energy critic, MNA Sylvain Gaudreault, yesterday. “I am very worried to see the expertise of this major player in the industry slipping away from us and just as disappointed to see him found his company in Florida rather than in Quebec. »
The latter is all the more worried that as soon as the study of the August 2020 credits, he had raised the red flag at the risk of seeing Hydro-Québec’s patents slip through his fingers, when an agreement was coming to be signed with Mercedes-Benz and that Dr. Zaghib was jumping ship.
Sophie Brochu, CEO of Hydro-Quebec, had then tried to be reassuring by launching that Mr. Zaghib had still “not gone to California” and that his VP David Murray had taken responsibility for the CEETSE. But since then, Mr. Murray left Hydro for Bombardier and Mr. Zaghib launched his business in Florida, notes Mr. Gaudreault.