Purchase of Bombardier Transportation | Alstom fulfills a promise with an innovation center

In addition to efforts to relaunch the former Bombardier Transportation plant in La Pocatière, Alstom is fulfilling one of its commitments announced more than two years ago with the establishment of an “innovation center” in the southern suburbs. of Montreal, where the French giant hopes to hire some 80 engineers by the end of the year.

Julien Arsenault
The Press

Hybrid propulsion, battery and hydrogen… the multinational’s team has the mandate to develop platforms aimed at decarbonizing the North American rail sector. Activities are integrated into the prototyping center located in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, near the company’s headquarters for the Americas.

“We have a goal of reaching 2030 with production capacity for zero-emission trains and zero-emission locomotives,” said Alstom Americas President Michael Keroullé, President of Alstom Americas. In 2030, we must have built platforms and developed the industrial side to build these new units. »

The kick-off of activities was highlighted on Monday as part of an event that included representatives of the rolling stock manufacturer and the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec (CDPQ), its largest shareholder, in particular.

Officially the owner of Bombardier Transportation since January 2021, Alstom offered a series of promises when the deal was announced about a year earlier. The Americas headquarters have been moved from New York to the Montreal area, the La Pocatière plant in Bas-Saint-Laurent is beginning to recall employees and the innovation center has been confirmed.

“In the 15 people on the management team, there must be 12 here and three in New York, explained Mr. Keroullé, in office for a year and established in the metropolitan area. We have consolidated engineering and we have more than 250 positions open around Montreal. »

Alstom is thinking big in the decarbonization niche. According to the company, the North American rail network is barely 1% electrified. More than 27,000 diesel locomotives run on a network of 270,000 kilometres.