French billionaire to build electric car batteries near Montreal

French billionaire Vincent Bollore is joining the global rush to build electric batteries for the vehicles of tomorrow.
And he's setting up shop near Montreal.

Bollore says his company, Bollore Group, will invest $120 million in a battery-producing factory east of Montreal.

He plans to hire 200 new workers to build batteries that will be used in electric cars and buses.

Bollore says his batteries, based on lithium-metal-polymer technology, are safer than the lithium-ion power plants used by major automakers.
He says lithium-ion batteries, often used in laptops, have been known to overheat.

The company describes the plant as the first of its kind in North America, and just the second such project in the entire world.

Last year, Forbes listed Bollore among the richest people on Earth, worth an estimated US$1.4 billion.