Quebec Aims to Showcase Local Know-How With EV Pilot

Hydro-Québec’s research institute, IREQ, is working with  Saint-Eustache, Quebec-based B3CG Interconnect to test vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home power exchanges.

The goal of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems is to use electricity stored in the batteries of plug-in vehicles as a backup energy supply for electricity grids during peak periods. Vehicle-to-home (V2H) systems, on the other hand, would allow plug-in vehicle owners to use the energy stored in their batteries as a temporary home power source during outages, the same way they would a generator.

IREQ is assembling a test vehicle outfitted with an electric powertrain system designed by TM4, a Hydro-Québec subsidiary. The battery will be designed with IREQ-patented materials, such as lithium iron phosphate. B3CG Interconnect will partner with the Centre National du Transport Avancé and Brioconcept, based in Laval, to develop new two technologies: a power battery and associated control system, and a two-way charger designed to both recharge the battery and supply power to the grid.

The Province is providing some funding for the project as part of its 2011-2020 Action Plan for Electric Vehicles which mandates Hydro-Québec to define the implications of these innovative concepts and to carry out all required experiments.

Denis Faubert, general manager of IREQ says this project could become a showcase for “Québec know-how.”

“Thanks to the presence of Hydro-Québec and major Québec buyers of world-class transportation systems, Québec industries can carve out a place on the world market for electric vehicles and related technologies,” said Stéfan Baumans, president and CEO of B3CG Interconnect, in a release today.