EV Innovation & Technology Conference 2024

2024 EV Innovation & Technology Conference banner image
Supporters of the 2024 EV Innovation & Technology Conference

This one-day conference brings together the best and brightest industry leaders who are transforming electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada

Tickets have sold out for the 2024 conference. Join us in 2025!

“Every vehicle is being rethought, not just in terms of design, but in terms of supply chain.”

Linda Hasenfratz, Linamar Corporation, at the 2023 EV Innovation & Technology Conference

2024 Speakers

Robert Weggässer
Senior Director Finance and Interim Chief Financial Officer
Volkswagen St. Thomas Gigafactory

Johnna Muinonen
President
Dumont Nickel

Simon Thibault
EV Critical Materials Leader, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain
General Motors

Luc Hovan
Vice President, Integration & Infrastructure
Northvolt North America

Hon. Vic Fedeli
Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
Government of Ontario

Saga Williams
Senior Advisor, External Relations
First Nations Major Projects Coalition

Sarah Goldfeder
Director, Government Relations and Corporate Affairs
General Motors Canada

Rick Borns
Director of Engineering, Structures Group
Linamar

Michael Metzger
Herzberg-Dahn Chair for Advanced Battery Research
Jeff Dahn Research Group

EVIT 2024 Speaker: Alla Kolesnikova, Head of Data and Analytics at Adamis Intelligence

Alla Kolesnikova
Head of Data and Analytics
Adamas Intelligence

Moe Kabbara
Vice President
The Transition Accelerator;
Senior Advisor
Accelerate

EVIT 2024 Speaker: Mark McArthur, Director, R&D of NOVONIX Battery Technology Solutions

Mark McArthur
Director, Research & Development
NOVONIX Battery
Technology Solutions

Robert Mastrotto
Vice President, Projects
Next Generation Manufacturing Canada

Narayan Kar
Director, CHARGE Lab and Canada Research Chair in EVs
University of Windsor

EV Innovation & Technology Conference 2024 Moderator:Michelle LLambías Meunier Propulsion Quebec

Michelle Llambías Meunier
Chief Executive Officer
Propulsion Québec

Eric Desaulniers
Chief Executive Officer
Nouveau Monde Graphite

Sean Grixti

Sean Grixti
Director, Circular Partnerships
Cyclic Materials

Samantha Espley
Senior Advisor – Mining, Minerals and Metals, Canada
Stantec

Khadija Yazda
Product Manager, High Voltage Battery Systems
Electrovaya

EV Innovation & Technology Conference 2024 Speaker: Flavio Volpe, APMA

Flavio Volpe
President
Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association

EVIT 2024 Moderator, Emma Jarratt, Electric Autonomy

Emma Jarratt
Executive Editor
Electric Autonomy

Matthew Fortier
President and Chief Executive Officer
Accelerate

Mona Eghanian
Assistant Vice-President, Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network
Ontario Centre of Innovation

John Laughlin

John Laughlin
Chief Technology Officer
Next Generation Manufacturing Canada

Nino Di Cara Headshot

Nino Di Cara
Founder & President
Electric Autonomy

Conference program: Building the ecosystem

Recent growth in Canada’s electric vehicle and battery supply chain sectors has been nothing short of phenomenal. But industrial transformation is a long game. Maintaining or surpassing the scale and economic impact of our current automotive sector is the challenge that’s on the table.

Critical to this transformation is assuring that the companies, projects and relationships now emerging — in critical minerals, battery resources, advanced manufacturing, vehicle components, battery making, EV assembly — come together to produce an ecosystem that is greater than the sum of its parts.

That’s the focus of the EV Innovation & Technology Conference 2024 and why we’re gathering Canada’s leaders in this emerging value chain. Will you join us?

Future of mobility abstract image

2024 AGENDA

7:45amRegistration and Breakfast
8:45amConference Begins
Welcome, Land Acknowledgement and Introductions
Speakers:
• Nino Di Cara, Founder & President, Electric Autonomy Canada
• John Laughlin, Chief Technology Officer, Next Generation Manufacturing Canada
9:00amOpening Keynote: PowerCo Powers Up
The biggest storyline in Canada’s EV supply chain in 2023 was the unveiling of two new battery gigafactories. The largest of these, from Volkswagen, through its battery arm PowerCo, is a 90-GWh battery cell factory on a 370-acre site in St. Thomas, Ont. Scheduled to open in 2027, the Volkswagen St. Thomas Gigafactory — VW’s first in North America and largest outside of Germany — will create 3,000 direct jobs, up to 30,000 indirect jobs and produce one million batteries per year. With site preparation now complete, senior director of finance and interim chief financial officer Robert Weggässer will share the project’s latest details and next steps, including its supply chain development and integration with the regional and national industry ecosystem.
Speaker:
Robert Weggässer, Senior Director of Finance and Interim Chief Financial Officer, Volkswagen St. Thomas Gigafactory
9:35amPresentation and Panel: Priorities for Maximizing Canada’s EV Supply Chain
This stage-setting session will identify the key issues industry, labour and policy makers must tackle to fully realize Canada’s EV opportunity. Moe Kabbara, who leads Accelerate’s Battery Innovation Roadmap project, will open with an overview on the current status of Canada’s EV/battery ecosystem. Panelists will then engage in a candid discussion identifying current strengths and gaps in Canada’s developing EV ecosystem and sharing their insights on critical next steps to achieve long-term success. Talking points will be drawn, in part, from Accelerate’s recent CEO report, “Seizing Canada’s Opportunity: Defining and Building a Successful ZEV Industry.”
Speakers:
• Moe Kabbara, Vice President, The Transition Accelerator; Senior Advisor, Accelerate
• Robert Mastrotto, Vice President, Projects, Next Generation Manufacturing Canada
• Narayan Kar, Director, CHARGE Lab and Canada Research Chair in EVs, University of Windsor
• Michelle LLambías Meunier, Chief Executive Officer, Propulsion Québec (Moderator)
10:30amNetworking Coffee Break
This coffee break is sponsored by 3Degrees
10:55amPanel: New Materials Supply: Critical Minerals Sourcing Integration
The race is on to develop Canada’s critical minerals resources and to supply the new precursor and battery plants. Mines are coming online, sourcing deals with battery companies, CAM producers and automakers are being put into place. Of all the parts of the Canadian EV/battery ecosystem, this is the newest frontier. What are the linkages between these players? What is missing/required behind the scenes to put sourcing deals/production in place? What is Canada’s full potential in this space?
Speakers:
• Simon Thibault, EV Critical Materials Leader, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, General Motors
Johnna Muinonen, President, Dumont Nickel
Saga Williams, Senior Advisor, External Relations, First Nations Major Projects Coalition
• Alla Kolesnikova, Head of Data and Analytics, Adamas Intelligence
• Eric Desaulniers, Chief Executive Officer, Nouveau Monde Graphite
• Samantha Espley, Senior Advisor, Mining, Metals, Minerals – Canada, Stantec (Moderator)
11:55amOntario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) Project Announcement
Speakers:
Mona Eghanian
, Assistant Vice-President, OVIN, Ontario Centre of Innovation
12:05pmLunch
1:10pmPanel: Next-Generation Manufacturing: Process Innovation
Gigacasting. Rare earths. Battery components. This panel features elite companies in different segments of the EV/battery supply chain with a key trait in common: all are creating new EV-sector opportunities with world-leading process innovations. The session will highlight each firm’s innovation and the strategies they are using to move them into the broader supply chain. What challenges and obstacles are involved? What support is needed? How does each become part of the new EV ecosystem? What are the lessons learned?
Speakers:
• Rick Borns, Director of Engineering, Structures Group, Linamar
• Mark McArthur, Director, R&D, Novonix Battery Technology Solutions
• Sean Grixti, Director, Circular Partnerships, Cyclic Materials
Mona Eghanian, Assistant Vice-President, OVIN, Ontario Centre of Innovation (Moderator)
2:00pmPresentation: Project Arrow 2.0: A Flagship for Canada’s EV Ecosystem
Project Arrow 2.0 is the just-announced APMA-led successor program to the original Project Arrow, aka “Canada’s car,” which was unveiled in early 2023. Project Arrow 2.0’s goal is to produce a series of 10 to 20 vehicles featuring upgraded technology and new suppliers in a program designed to help solve Canada’s EV ecosystem challenges. With Project Arrow 2.0’s RFP open until spring, APMA president Flavio Volpe will discuss the project goals and outline how members of Canada’s EV value chain can contribute and benefit in the process.
Speaker:
 Flavio Volpe, President, Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association
2:30pmNetworking Coffee Break
This coffee break is sponsored by 3Degrees
3:10pmFireside Chat: The Future of Batteries: Facts, Fiction and Fearless Forecasts
This session is sponsored by Neo Battery Materials Inc.
Building better batteries is a global arms race in the EV sector. The Jeff Dahn Research Group lab at Dalhousie University, with its strong ties to Tesla, is responsible for many breakthroughs in this space. Michael Metzger, one of two research chairs who joined the lab in 2021, is a world leader in battery physics. In this fireside chat with Electric Autonomy’s Emma Jarratt, he’ll discuss some of the advances he and his colleagues are working on and offer his views on the near-term future of battery technology – chemistries, speeds, opportunities, challenges.
Speakers:
• Michael Metzger, Herzberg-Dahn Chair for Advanced Battery Research, Jeff Dahn Research Group
• Emma Jarratt, Executive Editor, Electric Autonomy (moderator)
3:45pmClosing Panel: New Production Hubs: OEMs and Battery Makers
This session is sponsored by Linde Canada Inc.
Assembly plants are where the vehicles of today and tomorrow come together, but the production networks they rely on consist of hundreds of companies and many thousands of workers and communities. As the industry pivots from ICEV assembly to BEVs and PHEVs, many of those connections are being created anew, posing critical economic, commercial and policy challenges. For the vehicle makers and new battery plants at the centre of these hubs, building these new networks is one of their most important strategic concerns. This session brings together senior OEM and battery sector leaders to discuss how those new supply chains are being built. What lessons does their experience hold for the ecosystems currently forming in Canada?
Speakers: 
• Luc Hovan, Vice President, Integration & Infrastructure, Northvolt North America
• Sarah Goldfeder, Director of Government Relations and Corporate Affairs, General Motors Canada
Khadija Yazda, Product Manager, High Voltage Battery Systems, Electrovaya
Matthew Fortier, President and CEO, Accelerate (Moderator)
4:30pmFireside Chat: The Honourable Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Government of Ontario
Speaker:
Hon. Vic Fedeli, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Government of Ontario
5:00pm-7:00pmCocktail Reception

Who should attend?

  • Automotive industry professionals
  • Researchers and innovators in the electric vehicle sector
  • Strategic investors
  • Government and policymakers

Tickets are limited.

Note that the 2023 edition was a sold-out event.

Media attendance

Media who would like to report on the event may apply to attend by sending a request to [email protected]

EV Innovation & Technology Conference crowd
  • Understand the latest innovations across the EV value chain
  • Meet Canadian companies working on cutting-edge technology
  • Collaborate to develop a national capability for advanced manufacturing

Date: February 7, 2024

Venue: Delta Hotels Toronto Airport & Conference Centre

655 DIXON RD, TORONTO, M9W 1J3

The Delta Hotels Toronto Airport & Conference Centre offers free shuttle services for easy transfer from and to the airport. To book hotel accommodations, please make reservations directly through the hotel.


NGen’s N3 Summit, charting Canada’s future in strategic sectors like EV, Life & Health Sciences, AI & Robotics, and Cleantech & Sustainability, will be taking place on February 8 at the Toronto Congress Centre, conveniently located across Dixon Road.

Delta Hotel Toronto photograph

Conference pass rate: $389. Your one-day conference pass includes access to all speaker sessions, lunch, coffee breaks and a networking cocktail reception in the evening.

Sponsorship packages are available for industry-relevant organizations. Please contact us for more information.

Electric Autonomy logo

The EV Innovation & Technology Conference is powered by Electric Autonomy

Electric Autonomy is an independent media and events company reporting on the transition to zero emission vehicles and autonomous mobility. Its mission is to accelerate change by bringing together thought leaders across industry, government and research through editorial, events, education and other innovative programming.