Linux Foundation Energy (LF Energy), has announced that Hydro-Québec, the largest power utility in Canada, and a major player in the global hydropower industry, has joined the foundation as a general member. LF Energy members provide funding and resources to support the foundation’s mission of building a unified approach to developing non-differentiating code that can enable utilities, grid operators, electric vehicle makers, sophisticated energy buyers and others to develop and implement technologies to transform the power sector.

“Onboarding Hydro-Québec as an LF Energy is a big deal for the power sector in North America, and the energy transition globally,” said LF Energy Executive Director Alex Thornton. “Being able to deeply collaborate with a highly innovative North American utility will provide tremendous value to LF Energy’s portfolio of open source technologies for the sector. We look forward to working more closely with Hydro-Québec as they, like all electric utilities globally, navigate the energy transition to decarbonize operations while ensuring reliability, safety, and affordability.”

Hydro-Québec is the first North American power utility to join LF Energy. They join European electrical utilities Alliander (Netherlands), Energinet (Denmark), RTE (France), Statnett (Norway), TenneT (Germany and Netherlands), and Vattenfall (Sweden). Other LF Energy members include technology companies such as Google and Microsoft, energy generators such as Shell, equipment vendors such as Aveva and GE, government agencies such as ENTSO-E and NREL, nonprofits such as EnergyTag and EPRI, and research universities such as Stanford and TU Delft.

“Hydro-Québec needs to give itself the means to achieve its ambitions if it is to succeed with its 2035 action plan, and joining LF Energy offers opportunities to be seized,” says Sébastien Lussier, from Hydro-Québec’s research center. “The energy transition involves many challenges and technological hurdles. Joining the LF Energy ecosystem will help Hydro-Québec in its innovation process to better respond to the energy transition, while sharing its know-how and expertise with the energy market and helping to decarbonize it.”