NSERC leads initiative to stimulate US-Canada joint automotive R&D projects

Complements Clean Energy Dialogue

Two recent meetings between prime minister Steven Harper and US president Barack Obama have generated their first major R&D deliverable with the signing of a joint automotive R&D initiative geared towards reduced emissions, alternative fuels and greater fuel efficiency. Although not technically within the scope of the US-Canada Clean Energy Dialogue Action Plan, the complementary pact between the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the US National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy is expected to generate a number of projects over the next five years.

The February/09 meeting of the heads of state introduced the concept of a Clean Energy Dialogue — a concept that was fleshed out for a follow-up meeting earlier this month. The result is an action plan that spells out the main areas where the two nations plan to collaborate: carbon capture and storage (CCS), a more efficient electricity grid based on clean and renewable generation, and expanding R&D as well as a road map for clean energy R&D and deployment (RD&D). Leadership of the dialogue falls to Environment Canada minister Jim Prentice and Dr Stephen Chu, secretary of the US Department of Energy.

next generation green vehicles

The automotive R&D agreement will see NSERC coordinating Canada's R&D activities on behalf of the $145-million Automotive Partnership Canada (APC) — a partnership between five Canadian research funding bodies (see box). Initial efforts will go towards establishing mechanisms between the three funding bodies to develop joint projects involving industry, universities and government laboratories.

"This initiative emerged from the Clean Energy Dialogue process over the summer. Automotive is an extremely important sector for both countries," says NSERC executive VP, Margaret McCuaig-Johnston. "The key objective is economic benefits to Canada."

The joint venture represents a significant opportunity for Canada to increase its share of North American automotive R&D. While Canada is a major player in the areas of vehicle production and assembly, the vast majority of underlying R&D is conducted in the US, Japan or Europe where the major car companies are headquartered. Canadian and US researchers have agreed to focus on the following key areas:

* hybrid and vehicle systems;

* lighter weight and/or sustainable materials;

* advanced powertrain;

* energy storage;

* application of alternative fuels including biofuels;

* power electronics and electrical machines; and,

* intelligent transportation systems

McCuaig-Johnston says the potential for generating more Canadian automotive R&D is "an exciting prospect", adding that APC was specifically designed to boost auto R&D conducted in Canada and that the Auto21 Network of Centres of Excellence has been successfully boosting expenditures for the past seven years.

The APC project office is located in Mississauga and headed up by executive director John Wood. Wood will be responsible along with his counterparts at DOE and NSF in establishing the processes under which the automotive R&D initiative will operate.

Under the initiative, Canadian researchers can apply for project funding. Proposals must come from university-based researchers who have an industry partner that contributes cash, in-kind or both. Projects will then be circulated to the initiative's US partners to determine whether the project becomes bilateral.

"This initiative will facilitate cross-border projects. The DOE will want to see if there are projects that their own labs want to participate in," says McCuaig-Johnston. "The next step is to look at the current projects that are ready or in development to see if they have cross-border elements. We'll draw up a process for future projects and how proposals can be put forward."

Since its launch, the APC project office has received 30 concrete proposals with another 20 in the development stage. McCuaig-Johnston says the response to date has been impressive, adding that funding can range from $200,000 to as high as $20 million, with the potential for even larger amounts coming from US sources. The first bilateral projects are not expected for several months.

clean energy dialogue

The RD&D component of the Clean Energy Dialogue action plan calls for an RD&D collaboration framework under which a wide range of collaborative initiatives like the automotive agreement can be launched. A roadmap will also be developed to set objectives and identify near-term steps that can be taken "to ensure that our RD&D portfolios are positioned to deliver the required transformational technologies in time".

Projects that are ready for a fall/09 launch include joint work in sustainable bioenergy, lifecycle analysis, production of biofuels using algae and trees killed by the mountain pine beetle, development of lightweight materials for vehicles and new tools to optimize building energy performance.

Both the framework and roadmap will be completed or initiated this fall for implementation in 2010.

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