On December 8, 2021, key mobility technology partners Alectra Utilities Inc., EnerTech and Linamar, along with Western University, announced a Memorandum of Understanding allowing for research and development in the mobility sector.
This new partnership is aiming to create an enhanced environment for commercialization of advanced mobility innovations in the Ontario region. Mobility technology focuses on autonomous vehicles, electrification, fleet management, and connectivity and transportation logistics.
The objectives of the relationship are two-fold, to help create improved opportunities for student employment in the mobility area and to leverage off the research capabilities at Western to help accelerate development of new technologies for Canadian mobility startups. Some of those technologies could include the development of enhanced batteries, autonomy, hydrogen as a fuel source, smart cities, and renewable energy.
Alectra is the largest municipally-owned electric utility in Canada, based on the total number of customers served, serving more than one million homes and businesses in Ontario's Greater Golden Horseshoe area.
Gowling WLG was counsel to Alectra on the formation of this strategic partnership with a team that included Robert Hull (corporate) and Paul Carenza (tax).