Construction of Northvolt's Quebec EV battery plant halted until Jan. 23

Work on the construction of Northvolt's massive, multibillion-dollar plant east of Montreal is on hold until next Tuesday, pending a court ruling on an injunction request filed by an environmental group.

That group, which is called the (CQDE), filed the injunction request in Superior Court on Thursday, calling for the work to stop. Three citizens are also part of the court challenge.

Northvolt, a Swedish company and a giant in the field of electric vehicle batteries, said it decided to suspend work on the construction site later that day «out of respect for the ongoing legal process.»

Both sides were in court on Friday morning to present their arguments, but the case was postponed until next Tuesday.

Northvolt's legal team said it only received documents about the case on Thursday and needed more time to prepare. Along with the postponement, the judge ordered the stop on the construction work to continue until 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

In a statement issued after court was adjourned, Northvolt said that its previous projects have respected some of the strictest environmental norms in the world.

«And we plan to continue to abide by the environmental rules that are in effect,» the statement reads.

The plant, if built, will be located on the border of Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville, about 30 kilometres east of Montreal.

As part of the construction work, Northvolt began felling trees at the site earlier this week, after getting the green light from Quebec's Environment Ministry.

Environmental groups have raised concerns about the damage the construction would cause to wetlands in that area.

Lawyers for the CQDE argue that the Environment Ministry had recently gotten in the way of another project in that area due to the potential