The federal government has turned its focus on the transportation sector in hopes of lowering emissions and boosting the adoption of zero-emission vehicles in Canada.
A call for proposals to support research, development and demonstration (RD&D) projects aimed at eliminating emissions from on-road transportation was announced on May 25 by Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
“The Government of Canada is supporting Canadian businesses and communities to take climate action by reducing emissions in the transportation sector and deploying clean technology solutions,” said Dabrusin in a statement. “This call for applications will help scale research and development while supporting energy efficiency in the transportation sector across Canada.”
The projects will be funded under Canada’s Energy Innovation Program and must address barriers to the deployment (and demonstration) of low- or zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
An example of this would be the use of certain materials to reduce weight so as to improve the energy efficiency of the vehicle. Or to develop a more cost-effective, high-performance technology — like hydrogen fuel cells and electrical powertrains.
The project should also help increase the adoption of ZEVs and improve the transportation system’s overall efficiency.
“As Canada deploys thousands of electric vehicle chargers and invests in modernizing our electrical grids, we are working with industry partners to scale clean technology solutions to drive down transportation emissions while building a sustainable and prosperous economy,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources.