Funding to support regional technology development site in Windsor-Essex

Raed Kadri, Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network, speaking during a news conference in Windsor. (Source: Rusty Thomson)

Windsor-Essex will continue to serve as one of nine Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network regional technology development sites.

The Ontario government, through OVIN, announced Tuesday that $1.5 million will be invested into the Windsor-Essex development site program (RTDS) and will be supported by nearly $3.35 million in private sector contributions and $1.75 million in broader public sector supports, for a total commitment of $6.6 million.

This next phase of the Windsor-Essex RTDS will be led by WEtech Alliance.

The Windsor-Essex RTDS will continue to support startups, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), researchers, and industry partners in developing, testing, and commercializing advanced automotive and mobility technologies across the region.

WEtech Director of Venture Services and Partnerships Adam Castle says they will be working with companies that are here but also within the network across Ontario to solve real problems that industry and institutions are facing.

“The Windsor Port Authority, for example, has the need for security and space that helps mitigate risk for their personnel. We’re going to do some robotics; we’re going to build some drones,” he said. “We’re going to be doing some fleet modernization with Windsor police to help them understand what we can look at from a technology perspective that actually reduces the cost of developing and maintaining a fleet of the size that they do.”

OVIN aims to support innovation in the advanced automotive technologies, electrification, battery manufacturing, and smart mobility innovation sectors.

Castle says they want to work across the spectrum of folks in that idea phase and support their growth.

“Also, how do we get in touch with the industry that we know is facing challenges but finding solutions outside of the region or outside of the country? The big part of this is that made-in-Canada solutions are coming back to our industry, and they’re spending on innovation that was made right here,” he said.

Head of OVIN Raed Kadri says the purpose of the regional technology development site is to bring all of the resources together across a community to help support the next stage of commercialization of technology.

“We have been doing automotive for over 100 years; it’s the best place. We have entrepreneurs that have built companies and successful companies that are leading globally in this community, and we know that across this community,” he said. “Why not Windsor-Essex? Why not continue to be a place that supports entrepreneurship and the growth of startups and small and medium-sized enterprises? Why not be the place that leads the next 100 years of the automotive and mobility sector.”

The entire RTDS network, made up of nine sites that span across Durham Region, Hamilton-Halton, Kingston-Eastern Ontario, Northern Ontario, Ottawa Region, Simcoe-Barrie-Orillia, Waterloo Region, Windsor-Essex, and York Region.

WEtech will also work in partnership with Automate Canada, Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association (APMA), City of Windsor, County of Essex, Global Automotive & Mobility Innovation Challenge (GAMIC), Invest WindsorEssex, St. Clair College, University of Windsor, Wallonia Export-Investment Agency, Windsor-Detroit Tunnel Corporation, and Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce.