François Legault is far from discouraged by Northvolt’s financial difficulties. The project will not succeed for sure, but in the battery industry, “what counts is the batting average,” he said on Thursday.
“There’s nothing certain, neither with Northvolt, nor with Ford, nor with GM,” the Quebec premier agreed Thursday during a press scrum held at the Parliament Building. “But I think that when we look at the future for electric vehicles in the world […]it is not true that Quebec will let this happen [cette occasion]. »
In front of the parliamentary press, he reiterated that his government’s investment in the Northvolt battery assembly plant in Montérégie represented “a calculated risk.” He noted that about twenty companies in the electric vehicle sector had invested in Quebec since he came to power: “we also have GM, Ford, Volta, Nemaska…”
“Obviously, it’s a new industry. I’ve been in business and I know that when you want to develop, you have to take risks. What counts is the batting average,” said the former entrepreneur.
In major league baseball in the United States, Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani has averaged about 30 percent this year. The leader in that category, Bobby Witt Jr., has put the ball in play one out of three times.
François Legault still says he has “confidence that [le projet de Northvolt] will come true.” “But nothing is ever certain in economics,” he qualified.
So far, François Legault’s government has invested no less than $510 million of public money in Northvolt. Added to that is $200 million from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
Northvolt says it has taken $135 million out of its own pocket to finance its North American project.
Further details will follow.