Minister of Energy Todd Smith visits EV Research Centre

Earlier this fall, Ontario’s Minister of Energy, Todd Smith, toured the University of Toronto’ Electric Vehicle Research Centre (UTEV), a university-industry partnership focused on developing next generation EV technologies. Industry partners include Litens, Magna, Intel and Lord as well as talent and research development organizations such as Mitacs and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.   

The visit included tours of multiple research initiatives, starting with the research centre’s battery and power electronics lab that allows students to work directly at battery testing stations.   

The visit continued in the EV Fast Charger Lab, where EV batteries are being built from scratch and tested in the lab’s one-of-a-kind electrical vehicle built by students. Additionally, UTEV is undertaking research in wireless vehicle charging and battery management technologies, which will help extend the life of an EV battery.  

One of UTEV’s Ontario industry partners, Litens, also demonstrated how the lab’s research and development directly contributes to their work developing EV battery technology in trucks.  

Over the past year, Ontario has welcomed announcements from manufacturers in the auto industry that are expanding their EV capacity and capabilities and the provincial government is engaged in multiple strategies to support the growth of the EV industry and the necessary infrastructure.  

Read more about EV research at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.