Québec Ramps Up Green Mobility With 3,700 Electric Vehicle Charging Networks – EQ Mag
Stéphane Paquet, President and CEO of Montréal International, says that Montreal has been focused on transforming the region to a green tech innovation hub since the 1960s when Québec began building hydro dams.
“In the 1990s, Québec supported the creation of the video games and VFX industry, paving the way to developing a strong IT ecosystem,” said Paquet. “Today, Montréal is an artificial intelligence (AI) hub. Those technologies combined with our 100% renewable energy converge to make Québec and Greater Montréal a top destination for investors looking to develop green mobility technologies and solutions.”
According to a 2020 Statistics Canada report, Québec has the highest percentage of registered zero-emission vehicles in Canada, with 48 %, compared to British Columbia at 28 % and Ontario at 19%. Paquet says this can partly be explained by Québec’s lower energy fees.
“But the Québec government was also the first in Canada to adopt a policy targeting electric vehicles (EV) adoption in 2012. Sixty-six percent of Québec EVs are registered in Greater Montréal,” adds Paquet.
Québec is the province with the largest charging network in Canada and one of the largest in North America. The province of Québec has more than 3,700 charging stations from Circuit Électrique, including 700 high-voltage units that can recharge a car in less than an hour.
Paquet says the Quebec region serves as a guide for how EV charging networks should function.
“Québec has developed an expertise in the entire electric vehicle value chain, from raw materials, such as lithium, cobalt; to the production and assembly of battery packs with companies like Blue Solutions and DANA to battery recycling with Lithion Recycling,” said Paquet.
In the push to make Québec a green mobility hub, Paquet says you can look to their initiatives in decarbonizing aviation, green rail transit and the cleantech workforce.
In September 2021, the Montréal-based SAF+ Consortium announced one of the first productions of sustainable aviation fuel Power to Liquids in North America. Paquet says this was a significant milestone with the potential to reduce emissions by up to 92% compared with fossil fuel-based kerosene. Production occurred in SAF+ Consortium’s pilot plant in Montréal’s east end.
“However, fuels aren’t the only way to tackle the industry’s carbon footprint,” said Paquet. “Some projects are geared to improve aircraft aerodynamics, which requires cutting-edge software development designed specifically for avionics.”
In 2023, Montréal will inaugurate a new electric rail commuter train network. The Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) will provide automated light metro to 26 stations powered by renewable energy. According to Paquet, the REM has been one of the most important commuter projects in Québec since Montreal’s metro in 1966. “It is one of the largest infrastructure projects underway in North America,” added Paquet.
The Québec region has more than 1,000 cleantech organizations that employ more than 85,000 people. Paquet says the workforce generates nearly $8 billion in annual revenue. “This is partly thanks to major foreign investors, like Ricardo, Alstom, and 7gen, who are developing projects in vehicle, rail and aerospace technology – all of which are supporting a green economy,” said Paquet.
Since 2020, Montréal International has supported 26 investment projects from California tech companies. According to Paquet, most, if not all, of those companies have an artificial intelligence (AI) component. “Montréal is a world-renowned hub for deep research in AI with some of the most prominent researchers, including Yoshua Bengio, who founded MILA in 1993.”
Source: forbes
