Electric vehicles (EVs) — both passenger and industrial — are the way of the future. But what impact will all these additional EVs have on Ontario’s power grid?
A new partnership involving Greater Sudbury Utilities (GSU) and Cambrian College could help provide those answers.
GSU is donating $100,000 toward the construction and equipping of the new EV Lab at Cambrian College. The lab will host the new GSU Engineering Workshop, designed to ignite innovation, cultivate collaboration and offer students a conducive environment for their research pursuits.
“This $100,000 investment will help spur innovation and get us all closer to the goal of zero-emissions by 2050,” says Mark Signoretti, GSU’s Board Chair.
“This next step makes perfect sense in the evolution of our long-standing partnership with Cambrian College.”
“We are in the beginning stages of a great energy transition,” says Frank Kallonen, GSU’s president and CEO. “This lab will help us understand the impacts of load increases so that we can develop optimal solutions that provide the services customers need at the lowest possible cost.”
Greater Sudbury’s Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP) uses energy, emissions, land-use, and financial modelling to determine the community-wide efforts required to meet a net-zero emissions target.
This target requires the reduction of 1.2 million tonnes of emissions by 2050. The college said in a news release that research and activities taking place in Cambrian’s Battery Electric Vehicle Lab align with two of the CEEP’s energy and emissions actions in eight strategy sectors: Low Carbon Transportation and Local Clean Energy Generation.
“This investment by GSU aligns almost perfectly with how we, as a college, are approaching the future,” says Kristine Morrissey, president of Cambrian College.
“It’s about moving forward to meet the industry demands for skilled workers head-on and doing our part as global citizens to advance efforts to reduce emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change.”
