Canada-headquartered Awendio Solaris has provided an update on plans for a multi-gigawatt solar cell and module manufacturing facility and global R&D centre in Montréal-Est. The company has planned a CAD 1 billion (~$ 724.89 million) investment with initial capacity of 2.5 GW, scalable to 5 GW. The project was referenced during a public policy discussion involving federal, provincial, and municipal officials. The facility was planned to use n-TOPCon technology and serve US and Canadian markets through a North American supply chain. According to Ernst & Young, the project was estimated to contribute CAD 5.5 billion (~$ 3.98 billion) to Canada’s GDP over 10 years and support about 2,500 FTE jobs annually, including over 1,400 in Québec and close to 1,000 direct jobs. National Bank of Canada was acting as financial advisor. The project included R&D partnerships with Université de Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal, and Université de Sherbrooke. Alongside, Plans also included the Solar Open-Lab for Applied Research Centre (SOLAR). Construction was targeted for Q2 2026, with production expected from 2028, subject to approvals.