Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) – R&D Partnership Fund: Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (C/AV) & Smart Mobility: Stream 2 (formerly: AV R&D Partnership Fund: Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (C/AV) & Smart Mobility Stream)
$1,000,000.00
Grant
Description:
The R&D Partnership Fund – C/AV and Smart Mobility stream supports projects related to the development, testing, validating and demonstration of connected and autonomous vehicle (C/AV) and smart mobility technologies in the following priority areas:
1. mass light vehicles, such as cars, trucks and vans;
2. heavy duty vehicles, including commercial vehicles, trucks, buses, recreational vehicles (RVs), and others used for goods movement;
3. transportation infrastructure;
4. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS);
5. transit-supportive systems and vehicles.
Comments on Funding:
Funding is up to one-third of eligible project costs, to a maximum of $1,000,000, with the remainder contributed by Applicants and/or Partners.
Applicant and/or Partners must provide minimum two-thirds of total eligible project costs (i.e., minimum 2:1 match to OVIN contribution). Contribution match MUST be in the form of private sector contributions, and be unencumbered from other government grant sources.
This is a reimbursement program. Reimbursements are triggered by the submission and approval of quarterly reports.
Applications are closed. Stay tuned for future intake announcements.
Eligibility:
The applicant must:
1. be an Ontario-based SME with fewer than 500 full-time employees;
2. have operations (R&D, manufacturing, product management, etc.) in Ontario;
3. be the direct recipient of project funding from OCI for the project. The Applicant may be an Applicant on only one R&D Partnership Fund (C/AV, WinterTech, or EV) project at a time.
4. obtain OCI approval before a new application for funding is initiated, if they have received over $500,000 of funding from OCI administered programs in their lifetime (excluding TalentEdge).
5. be a co-signatory to the Funding Agreement.
Eligible partners:
1. For-profit Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
2. For-profit National and multinational enterprises (NEs and MNEs);
3. Publicly funded post-secondary institutions (secondary);
4. Municipalities;
5. Indigenous communities;
6. Not-for-profit organizations.
7. Required to have operations and carry out projects in Ontario.
Project eligibility criteria:
1. Eligible projects require a minimum of two partners. Generally, a SME – the Applicant – works with a Primary Partner (other than an Post-Secondary Institution). Additional partners - Secondary Partners – can be any eligible organization and part of the team for strategic and commercial reasons. There is no limit on the number of partners.
2. Projects can be up to 24 months in duration.
3. Projects should be at Technology Readiness Level 3-9.
4. Typical project activities include technology development, demonstration, product/service validation, testing, certification, piloting.
5. Applicant and Partners should demonstrate close collaboration and scalable outcomes with high potential for commercialization, strong commercial pull, competitive advantage, and alignment with intended program benefits.
6. Eligible projects MUST include demonstration of actual products that can be showcased in Ontario at events, on the road, and/or at customer sites.
Application Steps:
Applicants must submit:
1. an expression of interest (EOI) and
2. a full application, if invited to.
To begin the EOI submission process, please complete a client intake form. An OCI Business Development Manager (BD) will contact applicants to discuss the opportunity and assist them with developing their EOI.
Documentation Needed:
Applicants must submit a signed Letter of Support (LOS) from contributing Partner organizations, confirming financial commitment to the project, activities, duration, resources as a “Project Contributor/Partner”, and acknowledgement of the requirement to sign the standard OCI funding agreement.
Other Things to Note:
1. The Expression of Interest submission deadline was on November 7, 2023. Check their website for the next application intakes.
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Maurice
