Quebec government approves 7GWh energy storage manufacturing plant

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

The government of the Canadian province of Quebec has approved the construction of an energy storage manufacturing facility from technology company Réseau Allégé Québec (RAQ).

The Québec Ministry of the Environment has given environmental and construction authorisation for the facility in Ville de Shawinigan, which is being developed by RAQ. A first phase of 7GWh of production capacity has been approved with plans for a second phase increasing that to 20GWh.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

RAQ appears to be planning a vertically integrated facility building battery cells, packs and whole systems. The announcement said that RAQ’s “large capacity cells enable two to three times the production output within a typical building footprint, translating to greater energy efficiency, productivity, and manufacturing agility”.

CEO Mike Epstein told Energy-Storage.news the cells will be high capacity 3000Ah cells, enabling superior technical performance and “excellent capital efficiency and productivity”, he claimed.

When asked how the factory’s output would split between cells and whole systems, Epstein said: “A majority of customers are seeking fully integrated packs and systems but roughly 20% of our partners prefer to work with cells.”

The company has, however, not revealed the type of battery technology that will be produced at the facility. Lithium-ion is the current dominant technology for both the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage system (ESS) markets, while chemistries based on sodium, zinc and other resources are growing in popularity although from a very low base.

Construction services provider Broccolini Construction Inc created the preliminary design for the first phase of the facility, which is expected to begin construction in 2024.

RAQ says on its website that it has over 20 years of advanced energy storage technology, decades of working providing solutions to the US military, and over 60 patents and patents pending.

Banks RBC Capital Markets and Société Générale are advising on the project. Epstein said the project has a capital cost of US$50 million per GWh of annual production capacity.

Canada is planning to bring in tax credit incentives for clean energy investment, in both downstream projects and upstream manufacturing, akin to those under the US’ Inflation Reduction Act which have seen investment in the country’s clean energy sector boom.

Energy-Storage.news has contacted RAQ for comment and will update this article when a response is received.

11 November 2025
San Diego, USA
The 2024 Summit included innovative new features including a ‘Crash Course in Battery Asset Management’, Ask-Me-Anything formats and debate-style sessions. You can expect to meet and network with all the key industry players again in 2025 from major US asset owners, operators, RTOs and ISOs, optimizers, software and analytics providers, technical consultancies, O&M technology providers and more.

Read Next

June 23, 2025
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC’s) 2025 State of Reliability report finds evidence suggesting battery energy storage systems (BESS) can improve primary frequency response.
June 23, 2025
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has approved a programme to “significantly” expand the amount of grid-scale energy storage capacity in the state.
June 23, 2025
Energy-Storage.news proudly presents our second webinar on advancing energy storage in New York with NYSERDA, focusing on building out the supply chain.
June 23, 2025
The Australian government is set to cut CIS tender process times to around six months as a 576MWh solar-plus-storage site has been approved in Tasmania.
Premium
June 20, 2025
After initially rejecting a 250MW standalone BESS proposal from Brookfield portfolio company Evolugen, Ottawa City Council has pledged its support for the project.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter