Dalhousie University gets $20M investment for battery innovation centre

A $20-million investment at Dalhousie University in Halifax will create the country’s first university-based battery prototyping and testing site, as the East Coast city reinforces its status as a leading battery-technology hub. 

The Canadian Battery Innovation Centre will let university-based researchers quickly produce and test new batteries. For a “small fee” it will also serve as a testbed for startup companies prototyping and testing new designs.

Michael Metzger, an assistant professor and battery researcher at Dalhousie, said the lab will be able to produce up to 100 battery-cell prototypes each week using equipment and a dry-room environment that measure up to industrial standards. 

“Our focus is on high quality and flexibility, so that we can test many different battery chemistries and materials combinations,” he said in a release. 

Battery materials that can be put through their paces range from lithium — used in most rechargeable batteries today — to sodium, potassium and other more abundant materials that have yet to reach their commercial potential. 

Committed funding for the new lab includes a $5-million federal grant, $350,000 from Nova Scotia-based utility Emera Inc., and $200,000 from Tesla Inc., a longtime backer of battery research at Dalhousie. 

Along with faculty, graduate students are expected to play a central role in operating the new facility. Dalhousie recently sanctioned a new masters program focused on battery technology, and students are expected to build the skills at the Canadian Battery Innovation Centre that will prepare them for careers in the industry. 

The lab is scheduled to open in fall 2025 in the university’s Sir James Dunn Building.