NGen CEO Jayson Myers said automakers have started the shift to EVs, but their “transformation is far from complete.”
“Significant problems need to be solved in order to make the industry sustainable over the next 10 years. Canada has all that it takes to play a leading role in that transformation – critical minerals, leading-edge research and technologies, strong manufacturing capabilities, and a highly skilled workforce.”
The more than a dozen projects are the product of a 2021 call for proposals from NGen. Traditional automotive players, as well as technology and advanced materials firms are spearheading the research and development work.
Auto parts heavyweight Magna has partnered with Halifax-based Rayleigh Solar Tech Inc. on its initiative The two companies are developing a process to mass-produce polymer panels with integrated solar properties. Building off Rayleigh’s solar film, the solar-absorbing auto parts would give EVs extra range.
Linamar is working with Simcoe, Ont.-based Westhill Innovation on an EV inverter that weighs 90 per cent less than those on the market today. The companies are developing a manufacturing process to build the compact and lightweight components required.
Other projects extend through the battery and fuel cell EV value chains.
Ballard Power Systems Inc. and Cummins Inc. will receive funding for work on fuel cells, Toronto-based Li-Metal Corp. for solid state battery research, and Alberta mining technology firm Summit Nanotech Corp. for a lithium extraction process that reduces waste and increases yields of the valuable battery material.
