“Our market study suggests that an average of 18,000 cars and trucks drive by our location every day. You want and need that kind of volume if you hope to make such a big investment profitable”
(L-R): Mario Fortier, Conseiller Municipal, ville de Lévis, Étienne Champagne, Fusion et acquisition, Développement et Projets majeurs, Énergir, Jean-François Crevier, President, Le Groupe Crevier, Olivier Sylvestre, Transport au gaz naturel, EBI Énergie, France Lampron, Directrice Électrification des transports à Hydro-Québec et présidente du Circuit électrique
According to Clément, the new MultiENERGIE station is unique in that it involves four partners who are specialists in different fields. Each of the partners provided the plans, equipment and expertise needed for their respective energy specialties, which come with different storage, handling and security needs. “Everybody stayed in their own lane,” he says mentioning that it was a team effort all around. In addition to Crevier the partnership includes EBI, Énergir (formerly Gaz Métro) and Electric Circuit. EBI is a private Quebec company that operates Canada’s largest network of public compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling stations, an important consideration
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given that CNG is the leading alternative fuel in the transportation industry. Énergir currently supplies multiple private and public Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) sites across the province. Electric Circuit is a company that has partnered with Hydro-Québec to offer a charging network with 2,000 public charging stations in the parking lots of partners across Quebec and into Eastern Ontario. These sites offer 240-volt, 400-volt charging stations, and 215 rapid chargers. “When you build something as novel as this concept it’s going to necessarily be a long and complicated process. You have to have many meetings and make many decisions,”
he says, noting that one early challenge was finding the right place to build the new re-fuelling centre in the Quebec City region where good spots are rare. Clément tells OCTANE that the site that was selected, bought and developed by EBI (the other partners rent from them) is ideally located just off an exit on the southern side of the east-west Highway 20, close to two north-south bridges that lead to and from the Quebec capital. “Our market study suggests that an average of 18,000 cars and trucks drive by our location every day,” says Clément. “You want and need that kind of volume if you hope to make such a big investment profitable.” The new site did not come without a few hiccups. The facility had a soft opening in August due to the delayed finish of a major renovation of the nearby overpass. That year-long project led to the closure of the exit leading to the new station, forcing customers to go to the next exit and return on the opposite side of the highway. “For sure that didn’t help,” says Clément speaking about the construction work, which finally ended in November. Since then he reports business has been strong and steady at the new multi-fuel station. “Again, this project is all about the future,” he concludes, remarking that the creation of this new MultiENERGIE facility is all about preparing to meet the needs of customers who are transitioning toward lower-emission fuels. OCTANE CCentral.ca