The University of Toronto Electric Vehicle Research Centre (UTHEV) has obtained a large investment to support collaborative research into next-generation electric vehicle technologies with its founding partner, Havelaar Canada, as well as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
The investment will finance research and development for two projects. The research projects will be led by both Havelaar and professor Oliver Trescases and professor Peter Lehn. Trescases and Lehn have also received financial support for their research from U of T’s Major Research Project Management fund.
Tony Han, alumnus of U of T’s Department of Engineering and the CEO of Havelaar Canada, initially partnered with the U of T to launch its Havelaar Electric Vehicle Research Centre in 2016. Over four years, UTEV has received $9.1 million dollars through awards from the NSERC and industry contributions from Havelaar Canada.
Among some of the products generated by Havelaar Canada that have been designed and tested in Canada are the Havelaar Bison E-pick-up, which was both designed and tested at U of T, and is meant to be both practical and a sign of strong commitment to the environment.
According to a U of T news release on November 10th, UTHEV is currently expanding its research laboratory with a research centre in the faculty’s Engineering Annex building.
This dedicated space will include power test infrastructure for battery management and prototype development for a number of technology ventures. The facility is expected to open in 2018.
