Skip to main content
Collective Energy

Hydro-Québec and its partners use cookies to offer a better experience on our website. By clicking “I consent,” you consent to the use of advertising cookies to provide content based on your interests. For more information, go to the Terms and confidentiality section.

3:15 - Yannick and Maxime talk about sustainable mobility.

Sustainable mobility really gets people talking—and asking questions! That’s why we gave comedian and ordinary citizen Yannick de Martino the go-ahead to ask the transportation electrification specialists any questions at all.

Yannick and Maxime
Yannick and Maxime

The first thing he wanted to know? When all cars are electric, will there be enough charging stations for everyone?

Follow Yannick to find out what the answer is!


Meanwhile, Maxime from the Hydro Lab explains how he and his colleagues are finding charging solutions for the future. One thing’s for sure: we can’t be afraid of the unknown!

Chapter 1

Charging stations

We know that when you choose to drive an electric vehicle, it needs to be charged. Yannick asks the following question: “To solve the issue of charging your vehicle when you’re not home, do we just need to add as many charging stations as possible?”


Meanwhile at the Hydro Lab, we’re in discovery mode with the data collected by the team. What are the first things they’ll learn?

What does tomorrow’s charging network look like? To answer that question, we need to have a clear picture of today’s network. Thanks to the Electric Circuit, the largest public charging network in Canada, electric vehicle owners can travel without worrying about where they’ll charge their vehicle. 


“The Circuit électrique website is like Tinder for charging stations” — Daniela Levasseur


Did you know that travelling throughout the province by electric vehicle is truly feasible? There are charging stations all the way to Natashquan…

The Hydro Lab: the discovery stage

Charging your car while sipping your coffee

Scroll down to charge the car

For example, a 30-minute charging session at a fast-charge station of 50 kilowatts or more can cost up to six dollars and fifty cents for an electric vehicle like an Ioniq5, which has a range of 417 kilometres in the summertime. For information purposes only. This information may vary depending on several factors, including the vehicle model.

For example, a 30-minute charging session at a fast-charge station of 50 kilowatts or more can cost up to six dollars and fifty cents for an electric vehicle like an Ioniq5, which has a range of 417 kilometres in the summertime. For information purposes only. This information may vary depending on several factors, including the vehicle model.

Chapter 2

Public transit

The sustainable mobility solution doesn’t only involve electric vehicles and charging stations—it also involves public transit. What if the solution was to rethink how we get around?


Because public transit + transportation electrification = the dream


Meanwhile at the Hydro Lab, they’re studying the information collected to define the charging network of the future. And the topic of garage orphans is being discussed. Yes, that’s right: garage orphans.

Is public transit a sustainable solution?

How do electric buses charge their batteries? Yannick asks Serge Carignan from the Association du transport urbain du Québec.

Do you know what a pantograph is? Or an inverted pantograph? No idea? Yannick didn’t know either, but he sure was curious.

The Hydro Lab: the definition stage

Chapter 3

Battery range

Regardless of the type of electric vehicle you drive, you’ll need a battery to charge it!


Would longer-range batteries make EV drivers’ lives easier, particularly for people who don’t have a garage?


Meanwhile at the Hydro Lab, the team is imagining a future for charging stations. And things are taking shape—questions are leading to solutions.

Are better batteries the solution?

Yannick doesn’t have the answer (which is entirely normal). That’s why he met with Pierre-Luc Marcil, General Director at Hydro-Québec’s Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage. With a job title like that, Pierre-Luc is clearly the right person to answer Yannick’s questions.


Important: you’re about to (finally?) discover why an electric vehicle battery cannot be confused with lip balm!

Hydro Lab: the imagination stage

What does the Hydro Lab look like?

Maxime and his team in a work session
Maxime and his team in a work session
Chapter 4

Specialized electric vehicles

Cars and buses are not the only vehicles currently going electric. Specialized vehicles such as bucket trucks and snowmobiles are doing the same!


So, when it comes to charging specialized vehicles, what will that look like going forward?


Meanwhile at the Hydro Lab, the team moves from the dream stage to reality by identifying ideas to prototype.

What about other types of electric transportation?

After seeing (virtually!) every type of electric transportation, Yannick wonders about the electrification of specialized vehicles.

So he spoke to automotive journalist William Clavey, who is very familiar with the topic.

Pilot Projects

Pilot Projects

Now that Yannick has found out all about sustainable mobility, it’s up to Maxime to present the innovative pilot projects from the Hydro Lab that will tackle the charging question head on!