“Prudence” and “confidence” are the two watchwords of Minister François-Philippe Champagne in the delicate matter of the Northvolt factory in Quebec, while the Swedish company is piling up the bad news.
For the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, there is a distinction to be made between the financial health of the company in Europe and its plan to develop the North American market.
“What happens in Europe is one thing, what happens in North America is another thing. We have always said that operations in North America continue.”
What’s more, Mr. Champagne emphasized, the company would have enough liquidity to complete its factory in Quebec, valued at $7 billion.
However, the battery manufacturer finds itself in more difficulty than ever, so much so that it is considering declaring bankruptcy in the United States. Its CEO Peter Carlsson has just left the presidency of the Board of Directors to make way for a restructuring expert.
Despite the bad news to which the public is entitled on Northvolt, Mr. Champagne says he has another “sound of story” when he talks about it to other players linked to the file, such as the Goldman Sachs bank or Volkswagen.
If the project ends up happening, would it at least be delayed? It will be up to Northvolt to respond, insists the minister.
“What I understand today, this morning, is that the project in Quebec, the project in Canada continues […]“, said Mr. Champagne as he made his way to caucus on Wednesday.
Mr. Champagne said he would speak with his Swedish counterpart in the coming days. Sweden this week refused to buy shares in Northvolt.
The federal government “negotiated well” the agreement because it has not “yet” put public money into the plant project, said the minister.
“I hope that it happens, because we brought Quebec into the automobile industry,” he added.
