Feds in Mississauga for $7 million expansion for Oshawa-made Project Arrow zero-emission project

The Oshawa-built Project Arrow – Canada’s first locally made zero-emission vehicle – has secured $7 million in federal funding to get the car from concept at Ontario Tech University into the minds of automotive designers around the world.

The Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) brought together the best of Canada’s electric-drive, alternative-fuel, connected, and autonomous technology companies, manufacturers and suppliers during the pandemic to demonstrate Canada world-class automotive capabilities on a global stage.

The result was Project Arrow, which was designed by a student team at Carleton University in Ottawa and built – with 97% Canadian components – in Oshawa at Ontario Tech University’s Automotive Centre of Excellence. Both schools are part of a team of heavy hitters in the engineering field in Canada.

The concept vehicle debuted to rave reviews in Las Vegas in 2023 at the Consumer Electronic Show and on Friday Filomena Tassi, the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, was in Mississauga at Myant Corp -a textile computing company and leader in digital health technology and one of the project partners – to announce the $7 million investment.

Tassi called Project Arrow “one of the greatest collaborations in Canadian automotive history” and congratulated the team for bringing the project to life.

“Congratulations to APMA as they show the world once again what Canadian auto parts suppliers, manufacturers and tech companies can do when they work together,” she said. “Today’s investment is advancing our country’s shift towards electrification in the automotive and manufacturing sectors while positioning Canada’s EV workforce for success.”

A previous FedDev Ontario investment of more than $5 million helped facilitate the design and build of Project Arrow, as well as its digital twin, which has been used as a leading virtual platform for testing and validating Canadian technologies and parts. Project Arrow has also enabled collaborating partners and businesses to attract $500 million in contracts.

Since its launch last year, this all-Canadian-made concept vehicle has been showcased across North America and globally, attracting interest from auto manufacturers and suppliers. The vehicle integrates components from nearly 60  Canadian businesses, including Myant Corp, which provide knitted sensors and actuators into the fabric of Project Arrow’s steering wheel.

Project Arrow at its launch in Las Vegas in 2023

Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association President Flavio Volpe said the government’s support allowed Canadian suppliers to “tell their technology innovation and advanced workforce story around the world” and will allow an expansion of the platform that will “enable the APMA to open doors at global automakers for additional Canadian suppliers to help lead their global ZEV transition.”

Described by one official as ‘Canada’s moonshot,’ Project Arrow is a zero-emission SUV that boasts a bevy of new technologies, all developed in Canada. An ‘open network’ computing system designed by a tech company in Kingston functions as its brain. A solar-paneled roof generates sufficient juice to power some of the vehicle’s gaudy functions, which include cybersecurity defenses and a health monitoring system. Capable of going from zero-to-60 mph in under 3.5 seconds, Project Arrow also features wireless charging capabilities and a 3D-printed chassis made by a Toronto-based startup.

The project also led to Ontario Tech’s Advanced Digital Design, Manufacturing and Metrology Laboratories winning the prestigious Engineering Research Project of the Year award from Professional Engineers Ontario. The award recognized the technical achievements of the team in developing the design prototype for the zero-emission electric vehicle.

Directed by Dr. Ahmad Barari, the lab team worked closely with the school’s Automotive Centre of Excellence in Project Arrow’s development, deploying emerging automotive engineering technologies while developing the vehicle, such as digitalization in design, manufacturing, and inspection, multi-physics simulations, and additive manufacturing.

The Project Arrow mission to develop Canada’s first zero-emission electric vehicle grew from initial supplier meetings focusing on part design and fabrication, through to a full vehicle build on-site in the ACE Climatic Wind Tunnel at Ontario Tech. Unlike traditional assembly line production for a vehicle, every design and fabrication detail of the Arrow was meticulously completed on campus by a team of experts and future talent from Ontario Tech’s engineering programs. The group worked in collaboration with the APMA and numerous industry leaders, startups and large Tier-1 automotive industry suppliers across Canada.

Volpe said APMA will build on the success of Project Arrow to expand its fleet of vehicles to demonstrate the competitiveness of Canada’s EV suppliers while strengthening the regional automotive supply chain. This project is also expected to create more opportunities for Canadian businesses to demonstrate their capabilities and components in the Project Arrow 2.0 fleet, which will generate investments in the region and across the country, while strengthening the Canadian economy.

The second phase also aims to cement Canada’s position in the clean air vehicle sector while bolstering the national economy and supply chain.

“Project Arrow is a true testament to Canadian ingenuity, hard work and determination,” said Raed Kadri, vice president for strategic initiatives and head of the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network at the Ontario Centre of Innovation.