OREANDA-NEWS. October 10, 2016. The Government of Canada supports the development of new energy technologies that have the potential to improve the quality of life of all Canadians, while creating well-paid jobs for the middle class. As part of this commitment, Mohawk College will receive an investment of up to \\$4.63 million.

This non-repayable contribution, through FedDev Ontario's Investing in Commercialization Partnerships (ICP) initiative, will bring together up to 11 partners from key energy leaders such as Siemens, as well as post-secondary institutions.

Need for Efficient-Energy Solutions

Electricity generating plants produce large amounts of high-voltage electricity. In order for this electricity to travel along powerlines for eventual use in homes and everyday appliances, it undergoes multiple conversions along the way. This conversion process can lead to a loss of up to 32% of the energy transmitted.

This investment will help to address this loss by supporting the development and operation of a direct-current microgrid platform (electrical grid includes a variety of operational and energy measures including smart meters, smart appliances, renewable and energy-efficiency resources). It is anticipated that 11 new technologies will be developed to:

  • Improve energy efficiency by reducing the need for conversion during transmission;
  • Build upon recent advancements in energy storage;
  • Support the increasing number of direct-current products;
  • Better combine renewable energy sources within the power grid; and
  • Increase the use of information and communications technology in the energy system.

The testing methods and technologies created through this project contribute to a future-facing concept of a "smart home", where all energy needs are interconnected and homeowners could efficiently manage energy consumption and usage from a variety of applications.

About Kortright Centre for Conservation

The Kortright Centre for Conservation is Ontario's premier environmental and renewable energy education and demonstration centre. It is home to a "Living City" and a model sustainable house, making it the perfect location for the sustainable, future-facing technologies being tested and developed by the partners involved in this project.

Partners

This project brings together a number of partner organizations, whose combined contribution to the project is over \\$4.6 million towards a total project cost of \\$9.3 million. Mohawk College's partners in the project include: Schneider Electric; Siemens' RuggedCOM; Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL); Enersource; Omicron Electronics; the "Living City" at Kortright Centre; and, McMaster University.

About Mohawk College

Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology, located in Hamilton, Ontario, is a specialized institute of health and technology that offers a comprehensive range of apprenticeship, certificate, diploma, and degree programs serving more than 10,000 students.

Mohawk College was ranked as the third most research-intensive Canadian college in the 2014 Canadian Innovation Leader report. Mohawk College is also home to iDeaWorks, an internationally-recognized applied research and innovation centre, which focuses on leveraging multidisciplinary industrial collaborations to commercialize innovations in three high growth sectors: energy; e-health; and, additive manufacturing.

For more information, visit the Mohawk College website.

FedDev Ontario's Investing in Commercialization Partnerships Initiative

The Investing in Commercialization Partnerships (ICP) initiative supports business-led partnerships that create globally-competitive products, technologies and services, and the development of innovation platforms that can demonstrate commercial value.