Nine Canadian manufacturing projects have been approved to receive a cumulative investment of $28.8 million from Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the organization in charge of Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster, in addition to 27 industry partners.
In March, NGen announced that it would allocate $50 million to help launch manufacturing solutions to help fight COVID-19.
NGen will invest $11.3 million into nine Canadian projects, with Supercluster industry partners investing an additional $17.5 million in the projects. Twenty-four of the industry partners, which were part of this investment, are classified as small and medium-sized companies. The nine projects approved for NGen co-investment are aimed to support unique manufacturing capabilities in Canada.
“The advanced manufacturing projects we support combine some of the best in knowledge, technologies, and production capability that Canada has to offer,” said Jayson Myers, CEO of NGen. “Collaboration allows Canadian companies to create leading-edge solutions for Canada that can then be leveraged to capture new market opportunities around the world.”
Through the federal government’s Innovation Superclusters Initiative, NGen works with more than 2,000 manufacturers, technology companies, innovation centres, and researchers. The supercluster provides funding and support to initiatives that develop or scale-up manufacturing solutions in Canada.
In March, NGen announced that it would allocate at least $50 million of funding to help launch innovative manufacturing solutions to help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
One company will lead each of these nine projects. Funding recipients are listed by project lead in alphabetical order.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco
This project will digitize a hot-ladle steel production process to minimize manual intervention, reduce process variation, and improve final metal properties. Partners on the project include IBM Canada, Tenova Goodfellow, and i5O Canada.
Conrex Steel
This project will create a steel forming press to support domestic shipbuilding on Canada’s east and west coasts. Partners on the project include Macrodyne Technologies and Source Industrial Services.
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Evercloak
This project will create a process for the production of graphene and thin-film membranes to be applied primarily in the cleantech sector. The sole partner on this project is ZEN Graphene.
Exergy Solutions
This project will develop new technologies to reduce the environmental impact of oil sands production. Project partners include Suncor Energy, and Precision ADM.
Molded Precision Components
This project will design a new manufacturing process to transform the way automotive components are made. The project is aimed to allow cycle times to be cut in half, increase productivity, and decrease costs. The sole partner on this project is Niigon Machines.
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KSL Lubricants
This project will work on a solution to improve tool life and lower costs by reducing the amount of lubricant required in manufacturing processes. The sole project partner is Wolfedale Tool & Stamping.
NanoCnet
This project will develop a system to manufacture flexible, transparent electrodes and heaters with clean technology applications such as batteries, electronics, and solar cells. The sole partner on this project is Evercloak.
Orthopedic Innovation Centre
This project will integrate medical science, imaging, and measurements with industrial 3D printing to improve the manufacturing of orthopedic implants. Project partners include Pega Medical, Spinologics, Conceptualiz, and Precision ADM.
Panevo
This project will design a Microsoft Azure software platform to facilitate real-time monitoring of production assets to help manufacturers identify inefficiencies, boost productivity, and reduce waste. The sole project partner is Accuenergy.
These nine investments follow NGen announcing additional investments into five projects under the organization’s Disinfection Robot Challenge. The challenge sought out robotic solutions that would reduce the number of healthcare-associated infections to protect the safety of both patients and healthcare workers. The companies working on each of those five projects include A&K Robotics, Advanced Intelligence Systems, CrossWing, GlobalDWS, and Precinct.
Image source Unsplash. Photo by Science in HD.