Hydro-Quebec closes its battery materials research centre

Hydro Quebec file photo. (Daniel J. Rowe/CTV News)

Hydro-Quebec is shutting down its battery division.

The Canadian Press has learned that the provincial utility will announce later this Friday the closure of its Centre of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage (CEESTE), a decision that will affect nearly 90 people, including 14 temporary technicians who will be placed on a recall list.

The others will be reassigned within the company.

The Centre of Excellence was established in 2017 following the Legault government’s investments in the battery sector. Since its creation, CEESTE has generated about 100 patents, most of which have expired or are about to expire.

At the time of its creation, CEESTE was one of the few research centres dedicated to the development of battery materials in Quebec, but many other research centres in this field have emerged as the industry has grown.

Today, such centres can be found at seven universities, among other places. One of these centres, Volt-Age at Concordia University, is led by the former director of CEESTE, researcher Karim Zaghib.

LITE will take over

More recently, in March 2025, the then-Minister of Economy, Innovation, and Energy, Christine Fréchette, announced the creation of the Industrial Laboratory for Energy Transition (LITE), which was closely associated with Hydro-Quebec. LITE will continue the work of CEESTE, but the crown corporation also intends to transfer CEESTE’s assets to the research ecosystem specializing in energy transition and batteries.

Hydro-Quebec explains this decision by the need to focus its research activities on the three main priorities of its 2035 Action Plan: improving service quality, energy efficiency, and increasing electricity generation.

CEESTE represented only a small portion of Hydro-Quebec’s research activities. Its main research centre, the Quebec research and electricity institute (IREQ), has two major facilities that employ approximately 500 people: the Hydro-Quebec Research Center (CRHQ) in Varennes, in the Montérégie region, and the Energy Technologies Laboratory (LTE) located in Shawinigan, in the Mauricie region.

CEESTE was located on the IREQ grounds in Varennes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 19, 2026.