Nouveau Monde Graphite’s mine and future battery material factory in Bécancour have obtained a block of energy at a price lower than the ordinary industrial rate (rate L).
“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.
His project, whose cost 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 Mme Pack. 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.
Nouveau Monde Graphite has the ambition to completely electrify its operations and obtaining a “discounted” industrial rate for 77 megawatts of renewable electricity will make this easier.
“The electricity block awarded will allow the establishment of a fully integrated advanced manufacturing platform in Bécancour, at the heart of Quebec’s battery sector, for the transformation of graphite into active anode material,” indicated the company .
The Quebec government grants Nouveau Monde Graphite a 20% discount on Hydro-Québec’s regular industrial rate.
In addition to favorable electricity rates, the company obtained Hydro-Québec to build a dedicated power line to connect the Saint-Michel-des-Saints mine to the main power grid.
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.
Northvolt in the crosshairs
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.
Nouveau Monde Graphite already has an agreement in principle with one of them, Panasonic Energy, which plans to buy part of its production.
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 M.me Package regarding the search for financing. The first commercial deliveries of anode material are expected to begin 28 months after financing closes, it said.
Listed on the Stock Exchange, Nouveau Monde Graphite shares have varied between $2.95 and $8 over the past year.