Funding to support regional technology development site in Windsor-Essex – AM 800 CKLW

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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 says. “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…

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