Quebec's Eastern Townships chosen for giant cargo airship project

Hénia Ould-Hammou · CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

A French company has chosen Quebec's Eastern Townships arsenic its aboriginal cargo airship assembly centre for its North and South American markets.

Flying Whales reached an statement successful rule with the City of Sherbrooke, Cookshire-Eaton and Sherbrooke's airport to physique a mill connected the grounds of the airport. 

The company plans to physique a 50-hectare tract to assemble, test, and motorboat airships — a task expected to make immoderate 300 jobs. 

Sherbrooke Mayor Évelyne Beaudin believes this volition payment some the economical and societal improvement of the region. 

"People volition privation to travel here, volition privation to spot those Flying Whales being built and possibly alert 1 day," she said. 

"I judge successful this project. I deliberation it truly answers a existent occupation that we person astir aerial transportation."

The politician stated that if consultations were needed, the municipality would beryllium unfastened to holding them.

"We are precise affirmative astir what is happening," Beaudin said. 

Airships to assistance trim c footprint, CEO says

The statement successful rule enables the progressive parties to determination guardant with environmental, technical, regulatory and fiscal studies — steps deemed indispensable earlier operation of the installation tin begin.

Vincent Guibout, CEO of Flying Whales and president of Flying Whales Quebec, said aggregate sites were initially considered and were narrowed down to 2 "good offers," 1 from Trois-Rivières and the different from Cookshire-Eaton. 

The institution had besides been eyeing Drummondville, wherever it had conducted studies. 

"The determination to take [Cookshire-Eaton] is mostly linked to the information that we had much certainty connected that side," said Guibout. 

A twelvemonth ago, Flying Whales entered a collaboration statement with Chantiers Chibougamau to transport lumber, but the concern fell through.

The aboriginal airships volition transportation ample loads similar upwind turbine blades, transmission towers, large instrumentality and materials. 

Guibout explained that this volition velocity up the deployment of technologies required for generating much vigor and trim the c footprint "significantly."

As for imaginable biology concerns, helium said that the site, which is already connected concern land, presents a fig of "advantages." 

"It was forecast for the manufacture and a fig of precautions were taken truthful that we bash not destruct protected taxon connected the site," helium said.

When asked astir failed projects successful Quebec oregon those that look uncertainty, specified arsenic Northvolt, Guibout said his institution would trust connected existing technologies and that the marketplace was "huge." 

Construction of the works is scheduled to commencement successful 2027, airship accumulation successful 2028 and commercialized operations successful 2029.