Volta Energy Solutions, established in Luxembourg, is requesting financial assistance from Quebec and Ottawa to assist it in carrying out a project to set up a new copper sheet plant in Granby for the manufacture of batteries. for electric vehicles.
Its parent company, the South Korean company Solus Advanced Materials, acquired the former Circuit Foil plant in Granby in March.
Its subsidiary Volta Energy Solutions intends to relaunch the production of copper sheets, with a view to the manufacture of anodes, the negative pole of the lithium-ion battery.
Volta Energy management did not respond to our request for an interview on its projects.
However, the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fizgibbon, maintained last year that the investments linked to this project would amount to “between 200 and 300 million $”.
In addition, according to information drawn from the registers of lobbyists in Quebec and Canada, Volta Energy has just mandated no less than seven KPMG lobbyists in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal to lend a hand in its search for financing for the expansion of its Granby plant.
Investissement Québec targeted
Investissement Québec, the financial arm of the Québec government, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada are specifically targeted by the team of lobbyists.
“The name of the program and the amount of funding are unknown, can we read in the file completed by KPMG. This funding, we also read, could take the form of a grant, or another form, if appropriate. »
These lobbyists are Caroline Charest, Stéphane Tremblay, Élodie Lussier-Piché and Mathieu Ouellet, from the KPMG office in Montreal; Raza Mohammad Omar and Begona Bernadez Padilla in Toronto; and Chung Henry in North Vancouver.
We were unable to speak with any of them.
“Our professional regulations prohibit us from commenting on confidential client matters,” Nancy White, KPMG’s communications manager, responded to questions from the Log.
Established in a tax haven
Volta Energy Solutions is established in Luxembourg, a country known for its advantageous taxation for large corporations. This country ranks 6th in the latest Corporate Tax Haven Index (2021), prepared by the Tax Justice Network (TJN).
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg thus rubs shoulders with other jurisdictions such as the Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Jersey and the Bahamas, known for their complacency towards foreign companies. According to the TJN, no less than 9% of multinationals on the planet have established their financial activities in Luxembourg.
– With the collaboration of Francis Halin