Inflammable devices were found under heavy machinery at Northvolt's future EV battery factory in Quebec

Swedish manufacturer Northvolt said Monday morning that improvised ignition devices were found at the site of a future electric car battery plant near Montreal.

The company described the devices as containers containing a flammable liquid. The devices did not explode.

Paolo Cerruti, president and CEO of North America, said in a press release Monday that the devices were deployed “with the clear intent to injure our workers and slow down our operations.”

Cerruti condemned attempts to intimidate crews and stall progress on the project, which he said would ultimately be good for the environment because the car batteries are an alternative to burning fossil fuels.

This is not the first time Northwalt Square has been targeted by vandals. In January, a Swedish manufacturer said the site was sabotaged after nails were driven into trees to be felled.

An anonymous group claimed responsibility for the sabotaged trees on an anarchist website, saying it was to protest a project that would destroy forests and wetlands and perpetuate car culture.

“What these people want to do is to intimidate us, to discourage us from moving forward,” Cerruti said at a press conference on Monday. “We are more determined than ever to move forward and succeed.”

The 170-hectare site is located in the communities of McMasterville and Saint-Basile-le-Grand, about 30 kilometers southeast of Montreal.

A representative of the local police service, Régie intermunicipale de Policia Régie Saint-Laurent, authorities said that they were called to the scene at 7:25 a.m. and fire extinguishers were found under the heavy equipment. Police have removed the devices and are continuing to investigate.

Cerruti said Monday that work on the site will continue when police give the green light. He declined to say how many fire extinguishers were found at the site and said he had nothing to say about those targeting the site. Instead, he said, the company welcomes a civil exchange with the community.

“This tactic is totally unacceptable,” Quebec Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon wrote on social media platform X.

“We are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful democratic and peaceful societies in the world. We must protect it. Always debate. Never violence.”

A non-profit organization Center de valorisation du bois urbain (CVBU) said on Facebook that its offices were broken into Friday.

The organization partners with Northvolt to cut and harvest the wood for future use, rather than leaving it to be cut down or thrown away. The organization has been tasked with planting 24,000 trees in connection with Northwalt's work.

Undermining the organization of environmental protection for the purpose of environmental protection will be counterproductive, the message says.

“The CVBU does not make any decisions to cut down trees under any circumstances,” the organization said on Facebook Monday. “When trees are cut, we make sure they are cut to get the most out of them.”