On Wednesday, May 15, inaugural speeches were given by Mr. Jean Boulet, Member for Trois-Rivières, Minister of Labour, Minister Responsible for the Mauricie Region, the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Region and the Nord-du-Québec Region, Mr. Michel Angers, Mayor of the City of Shawinigan, Ms. Jeanne Charbonneau, Executive Director of Escouade Énergie-Regroupement des CCTT en transition énergétique, Mr. Frédéric Côté, MBA, ASC, C.Dir., President of Escouade Énergie, and Mr. Steeve Chapados, General Manager of Caisse Desjardins de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles, underlined the crucial importance of strengthening Quebec’s position in the battery sector and in green hydrogen applications.
Thursday, May 16, saw notable interventions from The Honorable François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada), and Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice-Champlain, M. Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of the Economy, Innovation and Energy (Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie du Québec (MEIE)), Minister responsible for Regional Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Metropolis and the Montreal Region of Quebec, Professor Dr. Karim Zaghib, President and CEO of Volt-Age, Full Professor of Chemical and Materials Engineering at Concordia University, Professor Dr. Bruno G. Pollet, Full Professor of Chemistry at UQTR – Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada Research Chair in Green Hydrogen Production and Innergex Chair in Renewable Hydrogen Production, and Frédéric Côté, MBA, ASC, C.Dir., Managing Director of Nergica and President of Escouade Énergie-Regroupement des CCTT en transition énergétique. The key message was clear: Quebec and Canada have the potential to become world leaders in batteries.
The energy and enthusiasm were palpable throughout the summit, particularly during the high-level panel moderated by our General Manager, François Adam. This panel, organized by the Innovative Vehicle Institute and sponsored by CRIIT M2A, explored crucial themes such as repairability, battery recovery, standardization and high-speed manufacturing. Panelists included Etienne Ferland (H55 Canada), Vincent Darlix (EVT Batteries), Félix-A. LeBel (SysNergie), Luc Hovan (Northvolt), as well as François Adam, called for increased financial support to enable product industrialization and strengthen competitiveness against foreign competition.
Another highlight of the panel was the discussion of battery design with a second-life perspective, an essential issue for sustainability. The management of intellectual property in collaborative projects was also identified as a priority, in which collegial technology transfer centers (CCTT) can play a key role given their ability to transfer intellectual property to companies to strengthen their competitiveness.
Finally, our colleague Alexandre Lupien-Bédard was a panellist at a participatory workshop on the mutualization of equipment and strengths of CCTTs in energy transition. This workshop, moderated by Nicholas Berrouard of CNETE and organized by CQRDA, provided an opportunity to reflect on the establishment of IRDQ (Infrastructures en recherche et développement du Québec) and its shared R&D infrastructures.
It was a summit rich in exchanges and proposals, and demonstrated Quebec’s ability to position itself as a world leader in the battery and green hydrogen sectors. We look forward to seeing the advances and future collaborations that emerge from this inspiring event.
