Hitachi Energy Announced Additional $195 Million Investment to Expand Power Transformer Manufacturing Capacity in Varennes, Quebec
Hitachi Energy has announced an additional $195 million investment to expand its power transformer manufacturing facility in Varennes, Quebec near Montreal, Canada.
The investment, which supports an ongoing expansion announced in 2024, will nearly triple the site’s annual production capacity. The effort is part of Hitachi Energy’s $9 billion global investment program to expand manufacturing capacity, R&D, and engineering.
The expansion will create approximately 500 new jobs and provide benefits to the local economy.
With more than half of the value of goods sold from Varennes typically sourced locally, the investment will encourage further economic development in the region.
The Varennes expansion is a crucial step in Hitachi Energy’s global plan to increase transformer production capacity to meet growing mid- and long-term customer needs in the energy transition.
The Varennes facility manufactures HVDC transformers and is also CSA N299-certified for nuclear quality assurance. These qualities help the site to address exceptional demand for transformers driven by the expansion of nuclear power generation, increased interconnection between jurisdictions, the refurbishment of existing infrastructure, and surging electricity demand from data centers and continued growth in renewable sources.
The project will improve production flow with planned improvements like ab assembly line and the addition of two flexible core and winding feeding lines, ensuring greater production continuity. The factory integrates Hitachi Energy’s TrafoStar transformer technology platform, which harmonizes transformer design, manufacturing processes, and quality control measures across all power transformer factories worldwide.
Hitachi Energy is advancing grid modernization and aims to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2030.