SURREY, B.C., August 29, 2011 - Canadian
drivers will benefit from new research funding for new technologies
for the automobile industry announced today.
Federal government assistance will be provided to projects
focused on developing a battery pack thermal management system for
hybrid electric vehicles; more efficient systems for wheel
production; performance-enhancing catalytic converters; enhanced
fuel cell technology; and improved automotive manufacturing
workplace design and ergonomics.
Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology),
announced five new projects to be supported by the Automotive
Partnership Canada initiative.
These university-industry partnerships will receive more than
$16 million in total project support. This includes $6.5 million in
funding through the Automotive Partnership Canada initiative, and
close to $10 million from industry and other contributions.
Two of Simon Fraser University's projects will be in partnership
with Future Vehicle Technologies and Ballard Power Systems; the
University of British Columbia will work with Canadian Autoparts
Toyota Inc; the University of Alberta will team up with Vida
Holdings Incorporated; and McMaster University will collaborate
with the United States Council for Automotive Research.
These partnerships will be supported with funding through the
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the
Canada Foundation for Innovation.
"When Canadian researchers collaborate with industry, new
technologies emerge that contribute to a sustainable automotive
industry," said Suzanne Fortier, President of the Natural Sciences
and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Announced by the Government of Canada in April 2009, Automotive
Partnership Canada is a five-year, $145-million initiative that
supports collaborative research and development and pushes the
Canadian automotive industry to greater levels of innovation.
As an industry-driven initiative, automotive companies play a
key role by providing both financial support and essential in-kind
contributions to ensure the research projects' success. Other
previously funded Automotive Partnership Canada research projects
focus on addressing the widespread adoption of electric vehicles,
developing natural gas and diesel engine technologies, and creating
on-board storage and reuse of waste thermal energy.
Automotive Partnership Canada (APC) is a five-year, $145-million
initiative that supports collaborative research and development
(R&D) activities benefiting the Canadian automotive industry
through partnerships between industry and academia and/or National
Research Council Canada.
APC's funding partners are: Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (NSERC) ($85 million); National Research
Council Canada (NRC) ($30 million); Canada Foundation for
Innovation (CFI) ($15 million); Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) ($5 million); and Canada
Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) Program ($10 million).
Two of the new projects funded are at Simon Fraser
University: Integrated, Intelligent Energy Management Systems
for Hybrid Electric Vehicles (in partnership with Future Vehicle
Technologies Inc. $798,906); and Development of the Next Generation
Heavy Duty (Bus) Fuel Cells with Enhanced Durability (in
partnership with Ballard Power Systems $4,051,075).
A third British Columbia based initiative funded is with the
University of British Columbia to develop a Next Generation
Water-Cooled Low-Pressure Die for the Production of Automotive
Wheels (in partnership with Canadian Autoparts Toyota Inc.
$726,859.
The University of Alberta and Vida Holdings Inc. will co-develop
a Multi-Chamber Catalytic Converter ($180,629) and McMaster
University and United States Council for Automotive Research
will work on Improving Automotive Manufacturing Design and
Ergonomics through Work Simulation and Digital Human Modelling
($798,625).
More details on each project is available in a prepared
Backgrounder available here.