Ontario Centers of Innovation (OCI) – Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) – R&D Partnership Fund: Electric Vehicle (EV)

ByMaurice

Description:

The R&D Partnership Fund, Electric Vehicle (EV) Stream supports projects related to the development and demonstration of technologies in electric vehicles (EV) and battery manufacturing technologies in the following priority areas:


  1. mass light vehicles, such as cars, trucks and vans;

  2. heavy duty vehicles, including commercial vehicles, trucks, buses, recreational vehicles (RVs), and others used for goods movement;

  3. charging infrastructure;

  4. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS);

  5. transit-supportive systems and vehicles.

Comments on Funding:

Funding is up to one-third of eligible project costs, to a maximum of $1,000,000, with the remainder contributed by Applicants and/or Partners.

Applicant and/or Partners must provide minimum two-thirds of total eligible project costs (i.e., minimum 2:1 match to OVIN contribution). Contribution match MUST be in the form of private sector contributions, and be unencumbered from other government grant sources.

This is a reimbursement program. Reimbursements are triggered by the submission and approval of quarterly reports.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be:

  • be an Ontario-based SME with fewer than 500 full-time employees;
  • have operations (R&D, manufacturing, product management, etc.) in Ontario; 
  • be the direct recipient of project funding from OCI for the project. The Applicant may be an Applicant on only one R&D Partnership Fund (C/AV, WinterTech, or EV) project at a time.
  • obtain OCI approval before a new application for funding is initiated, if they have received over $500,000 of funding from OCI administered programs in their lifetime (excluding TalentEdge).
  • be a co-signatory to the Funding Agreement.

Eligible partners:

  • For-profit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
  • For-profit national and multinational enterprises (NEs and MNEs);
  • Publicly funded post-secondary institutions (secondary);
  • Municipalities;
  • Indigenous communities;
  • Not-for-profit organizations.
  • Required to have operations and carry out projects in Ontario.

Project eligibility criteria:

  • Eligible projects require a minimum of two partners. Generally, a SME – the Applicant – works with a Primary Partner (other than an Post-Secondary Institution).  Additional partners - Secondary Partners – can be any eligible organization and part of the team for strategic and commercial reasons. There is no limit on the number of partners. 
  • Projects can be up to 24 months in duration.
  • Projects should be at Technology Readiness Level 3-9.
  • Typical project activities include technology development, demonstration, product/service validation, testing, certification, piloting.
  • Applicant and Partners should demonstrate close collaboration and scalable outcomes with high potential for commercialization, strong commercial pull, competitive advantage, and alignment with intended program benefits.
  • Eligible projects MUST include demonstration of actual products that can be showcased in Ontario at events, on the road, and/or at customer sites.

Applications Steps:

Applicants must submit:

To begin the EOI submission process, please complete a client intake form. An OCI Business Development Manager (BD) will contact applicants to discuss the opportunity and assist them with developing their EOI (and eventual application).

Documentation Needed:

Applicants must submit a signed Letter of Support (LOS) from contributing Partner organizations, confirming financial commitment to the project, activities, duration, resources as a “Project Contributor/Partner”, and acknowledgement of the requirement to sign the standard OCI funding agreement.

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    Other Things to Note:

    1. Application intakes are based on funding rounds throughout each year until December 31, 2025, or when all funds are committed. Funding round timelines are stated in the Programs Overview on the OVIN website.
    2. The EOI submission deadline was on November 16, 2022. Check their website for the next application intakes.

    About the author

    Maurice

    Maurice (Moe) Muise learned the ins-and-outs of government while an employee of the Government of Canada in Ottawa for 10 years. His current focus is helping small businesses in Ontario to identify and maximize government grants to grow their business. Click here to learn more about Moe’s background and how he can help your business.

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