Power sector | Receiving millions from Quebec is the Privost quarter

Julian Arsenal
Press

Premier Franకోois Legalt, Minister of Economy and Innovation Pierre FitzGibbon, Minister of the Environment and the fight against climate change, will reveal the details at a press conference at the Privost facilities in Saint-Claire, Chowder-Appalachs. MNA for Benoit Chart, as well as Bellechosse, Stephanie Lachans. Company representatives are also expected to attend.

“Volvo Group intends to undertake a project aimed at designing and manufacturing an electric conversion kit for the new electric coach platform and coaches”, referring to the decrees approved by Quebec to give the green light for financial assistance.

For many years, the Swedish multinational company, which owns the city bus manufacturer Nova Bus, has been registered in the Registry of Lobbyists for financial assistance from the Quebec government for its electrification projects.

The assistance provided to Prevost consisted of two parts: a subsidized loan of approximately $ 15.2 million, with certain conditions – usually job creation or maintenance – not being repaid in full if honored. In addition, there will be a subsidy of 7.5 million.

Could not get an idea about the total cost of the project. Privost, the Legalt government and the factory union were reluctant to provide further details before the official announcement.

Another product

After trucks, school buses, city buses, snowmobiles and personal watercraft, motor coaches are the latest version of Quebec’s electrification division. Quebec mourns the assembly of electric cars, but believes the province can accommodate commercial vehicles.

Most projects benefit from financial incentives from the government. Companies such as Lion Electric (trucks and buses), Nova Bus (city buses) and Taiga (snowmobiles and personal watercraft) received assistance from government levels.

Unlike other manufacturers such as Protero (United States), Van Hool (Belgium) and BYD (China), Privost has not yet provided an electric coach. Since these vehicles usually travel longer distances than city buses, for example, the question of battery life is crucial for some models.

“It’s very difficult, but I think it’s possible to electrify these vehicles,” said Daniel Breton, President and CEO of Electric Mobility Canada and former Minister of the Environment in the PQ government of Pauline Morois.

Proof: Equipped with nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries, the manufacturer was able to cover about 450 kilometers on average between recharges of a coach from Proterra. For its part, Van Hoole has been delivering electric-powered coaches since the end of 2020.

The Nova bus will also be electrified

Nova Bus, part of the Volvo Group, received a $ 15 million grant from the Trudeau government last June to accelerate the electrification of its products. The company, which is based in Saint-Eustache and Saint-François-du-Lac, also benefited from a $ 7 million subsidy from Quebec in 2018.

Nova bus electric models are already circulating in Montreal, Brampton and Vancouver. The first deliveries of its LFSE + model are scheduled for this year.

For Privost, the projects planned in Saint-Claire are good news for plant employees, who have not escaped since the outbreak began. Decreased demand due to restrictions reduced the ax.

There were about 700 employees on the production side before the health crisis. According to the Uniformed Union, which represents local workers, the workforce has been reduced to about 550. The expected increase in production by the fall should allow laid-off workers to return.