Government of Canada Invests in Transportation Decarbonization Projects

Strategic Insights -

The Government of Canada has announced an investment of over $21 million in nine research, development, and demonstration projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Canada's transportation sector. These projects focus on medium- to heavy-duty vehicles with low or zero emissions, increasing the uptake of zero-emissions vehicles, and improving system efficiency. Additionally, $4.97 million was allocated to the City of Toronto through the Green Freight Program to transition heavy-duty vehicles to low-emissions powertrains.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Government of Canada invested over $21 million in nine projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Canada's transportation sector.
  • The projects aim to increase the adoption of zero-emissions vehicles, improve system efficiency, and address technical and market barriers for medium- to heavy-duty vehicles.
  • The City of Toronto received $4.97 million to convert 60 compressed-natural-gas waste-collection vehicles to operate on a hybrid-electric system.
  • AlumaPower received $5 million to demonstrate its Aluminum Fueled Galvanic Generator as a power source for electric vehicle charging applications.
  • Effenco (A Martinrea International Inc. Company) received $5 million to develop and demonstrate an innovative powertrain and charging system for electric MHDVs.
  • Betterfrost Technologies received $3.99 million to demonstrate an innovative defrost and defog system for electric MHDVs that uses less energy and reduces defrosting time on start-up.
  • Elemental Trucks Incorporated received $1.5 million to develop a high-performance, 63.5-tonne hydrogen-electric truck.
  • The University of Western Ontario received $1.5 million to design, test, and validate energy, communication, and cyber-security systems supporting EV charging on a carousel parking structure.
  • Inmotive Inc. received $1.5 million to develop an innovative transmission system that improves the range of electric MHDVs for the same battery size.
  • Alectra Utilities Corporation received $1.04 million to use innovative, utility-controlled charge and discharge of MHDVs to optimize grid performance.
  • McMaster University received $1.01 million to develop an AI-powered, web-based toolkit that enables system-level planning and optimization of electric buses and charging infrastructure.
  • Alectra Utilities Corporation received $900,000 to use bi-directional charging of light- and medium-duty vehicles and V2X applications to dispatch vehicle fleets strategically.

Statistics:

  • Investment: Over $21 million
  • Recipient: City of Toronto
  • Funding amount: $4,974,060
  • Vehicles to be converted: 60 compressed-natural-gas waste-collection vehicles
  • Project: AlumaPower Zero-Emissions Mobile Power Generator Demonstration
  • Funding amount: $5,000,000
  • Recipient: AlumaPower
  • Location: Sarnia, Ontario
  • Project: Development and Demonstration of an Innovative Zero-Emission Powertrain for Heavy-Duty Vocational Vehicles
  • Funding amount: $5,000,000
  • Recipient: 14156048 Canada Inc. operating as Effenco (A Martinrea International Inc. Company)
  • Location: Vaughan, Ontario
  • Project: Low-Energy Defrost and Defog for Commercial EV Trucks
  • Funding amount: $3,989,275
  • Recipient: Betterfrost Technologies
  • Location: Oakville, Ontario
  • Project: Addressing the Market Gap: A Cost-Optimized, High-Performance, 63.5-Tonne Hydrogen-Electric Truck
  • Funding amount: $1,500,000
  • Recipient: Elemental Trucks Incorporated
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario
  • Project: Affordable, Resilient and Low-Footprint Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure for Multi-Unit Residential Buildings
  • Funding amount: $1,500,000
  • Recipient: The University of Western Ontario
  • Location: London, Ontario
  • Project: Ingear Transmission R&D Project for Medium- and Heavy-duty Vehicles
  • Funding amount: $1,500,000
  • Recipient: Inmotive Inc.
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario
  • Project: AlectraDrive for Fleets
  • Funding amount: $1,044,695
  • Recipient: Alectra Utilities Corporation
  • Location: Vaughan, Ontario
  • Project: An AI-Based Digital Support Toolkit for the Deployment of Battery-Electric Buses in Canadian Urban Transit Systems
  • Funding amount: $1,010,080
  • Recipient: McMaster University
  • Location: Hamilton, Ontario
  • Project: Energizing the Future With V2X
  • Funding amount: $900,000
  • Recipient: Alectra Utilities Corporation
  • Location: Vaughan, Ontario

Sources:

  • Government of Canada news release, July 30, 2025
  • "Government of Canada Invests in Clean Technologies to Reduce Emissions," Government of Canada news release, July 30, 2025