“Incendiary devices” found at Quebec construction site for Northvolt EV battery factory

MONTREAL – A company building a major plant for electric vehicle batteries in Quebec says incendiary devices were found at a construction site east of Montreal early Monday, the latest act of alleged vandalism against the project.

The devices consisted of bottles filled with flammable liquid with a “simple” ignition system, said Paolo Cerruti, founder of Swedish manufacturer Northvolt. Cerruti, who is CEO of Northwalt North America, told reporters that the ignition system was “allowed for a certain delay” before the bottles ignited, but “thank God it didn't work.”

Northwalt initially called the devices “homemade bombs” in a news release, but Cerruti later referred to them as “incendiary devices.”

Several bottles were placed under the tires of “certain pieces of equipment” at the site, Cerruti said. Chantal Gravline with Richelieu, St. Laurent police confirmed officers found incendiary devices under the vehicle and an investigation is underway.

Monday's discovery is the latest act of alleged vandalism at the site of Northvolt's future $7 billion electric vehicle battery plant. McMasterville and Saint-Basile-le-Grand, located about 30 kilometers east of Montreal, are scheduled to open on 170 hectares by the end of 2026. It is expected to have an initial capacity of about 30 gigawatt-hours. cell production enough to power one million cars per year.

Since its announcement in September, the project has faced opposition from environmental groups and the Mohawk community, which say the plant is being built on environmentally sensitive land without due diligence.

In late February, police launched an investigation after people laid down a rug at the scene. One car was also damaged.

In January, the company reported that about 100 trees were covered with nails or iron bars. An anonymous group claimed responsibility on an anarchist website, saying their “sabotage” was to protest a megaproject that would destroy forests and wetlands and perpetuate car culture.

Cerruti said the site was being treated as a crime scene and the company was waiting for police clearance to reopen, which he expected to be by the end of the day. He said that if the vandals' goal was to instill fear among employees of Northvolt and other companies there, it had the opposite effect.

“We are determined to go further than before,” he said. “We've had the support of the community.”

This Canadian Press report was first published on May 6, 2024.

Canadian Press