New McMaster U centre to develop electric car batteries

An $11.5 million grant from the federal government will help turn a former warehouse space into a "green" automotive research facility that will house the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre, MARC. The new facility will provide a total of approximately 80,000 square feet of space for new development, prototyping, and large scale product trials in order to market newly developed automotive technology for mass production.

The project will create 120 to 150 jobs related to research, development and knowledge transfer, foster new university-industry partnerships and train hundreds of students for industry.

MARC researchers will work on developing hybrid and electric powertrains, batteries and lightweight materials for use in cars.

Meanwhile in Cambridge, Ontario, Dana Holding Corp. is spending $40 million to build a plant that will assemble heat exchangers for use on batteries in electric vehicles. The Ontario government is kicking in $2 million for this venture.

Much activity in the auto sector is focused on meeting new US federal fuel economy guidelines, which require cars sold in the US to double their fuel efficiency by 2025. More than 400 hybrid or electric cars are currently in development around the world.

Only a handful will make it to market, but Ontario wants to be in the game. The key to viable, affordable new electric vehicles will be the development of batteries that are lightweight, quickly rechargeable and inexpensive.