The funding, provided through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, will support important design development work for the made-in-Canada zero-emission vehicle project

Project Arrow, a zero-emission Canadian concept car development project spearheaded by the Automotive Parts and Manufacturers’ Association, received a major boost Wednesday with a $5-million non-repayable infusion from the federal government.

The funding announcement was made by Irek Kusmierczyk, MP for Windsor-Tecumseh, on behalf of Mélanie Joly, minister of economic development and official languages and minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).

Kusmierczyk cited both the need to cut transportation emissions to fight climate change and the importance of keeping the region at the forefront of technology development for zero-emission and connected and autonomous vehicles as reasons for the government’s investment.

“This is another piece of the puzzle to make sure that Canada, and southwestern Ontario and Windsor-Essex, are at the centre of electric vehicle supply chain, and production and research globally,” said Kusmierczyk.

Digital twin for testing

Project Arrow began as a national design competition to create a concept zero-emission vehicle. Once the prototype was selected and the engineering specifications released, work shifted to design and development of the vehicle’s components, with dozens of area companies contributing.

Most of the testing of those elements is taking place at the Windsor-Essex FedDev-funded CAVE (connected and autonomous vehicles, electrification) virtual reality centre, where a digital twin of the Arrow concept car is being completed.

According to the APMA, the project’s aim is to “bring together key industry and academic partners in southern Ontario…to design, engineer and build a connected and autonomous zero-emissions vehicle concept car and its digital twin, which will be used as a virtual platform for testing and validating connected and autonomous technologies before they are integrated into the physical car.”

This latest FedDev funding will support 80 jobs, leverage $6.6 million in other funding Project Arrow has garnered and support 40 suppliers from across the automotive sector.

“This lighthouse project is highlighting hundreds of advanced technology companies around the world and will serve as the calling card for the next generation of leadership in Canadian zero emissions mobility,” said Flavio Volpe, president of the APMA in the release.