Quebec is thirsty for electric vehicles that are also increasingly autonomous and connected. But they still need to be developed. Several Quebec companies are working there. With its army of engineers and technicians, the Innovative Vehicle Institute (IVI), a college technology transfer center (CCTT) affiliated with Cégep de Saint-Jérôme, supports them in their efforts and then transfers the product and intellectual property.
Posted at 1:00 p.m.
An electric and autonomous robot-tractor that can weed, irrigate and harvest fields: this was the idea that the Elmec team had in mind several years ago. The Trois-Rivières company had everything to invent when it came knocking on IVI’s door to develop what was to become ERION.
“Sometimes, we start from a blank page like for ERION, but other times, the manufacturer comes to see us for a specialized portion of the work”, indicates François Adam, engineer and general manager of the IVI, who is in his forties. of employees.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Francois Adam
For autonomous vehicles, IVI experts work with different technologies that use artificial intelligence, such as vision and GPS positioning systems.
Our software engineers have been trained and have the tools available to develop artificial intelligence applications for five years already and now it is really a developing sector for us.
François Adam, Director General of the Innovative Vehicle Institute (IVI)
There is also a lot of demand for connected vehicles. “For example, to be charged without manual intervention, an electric bus must communicate with the charging station,” explains François Adam.
Electrify with more power
Electrification, however, represents the bulk of the IVI’s efforts. For example, to electrify a vehicle, the battery pack must be custom designed. “You have to create the pack from modules that are made up of cells and you have to find the best ones for your needs,” explains François Adam.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ELMEC
The ERION electric and autonomous robot-tractor
The IVI has worked with several companies in the field, including Lion Electric, which builds 100% electric medium and heavy vehicles.
“The company worked with us at the beginning to develop its first electric school bus, explains François Adam. We made their prototype and we helped them with their pre-commercial units, then we transferred the product to them, which they put in their hands. They then developed a lot of knowledge and expertise in-house and have been developing their own products on their own ever since. »
Now, electrification remains relevant, but the big challenge is to increase the voltage of the systems. “Before, we were around 500 volts whereas now we are more around 1000 volts”, illustrates Mr. Adam.
We are also looking to increase the charging power to reduce vehicle downtime.
François Adam, Director General of the Innovative Vehicle Institute (IVI)
The IVI has also designed, with Propulsion, the electric and intelligent transportation cluster, an electric heavy truck for surface mining with a high-power 1 megawatt charging system. “We are in the process of finishing the work and the truck will be tested at the Nouveau Monde Graphite mine in Saint-Michel-des-Saints,” says François Adam.
There are 59 college technology transfer centers in Quebec with a total of 2,000 experts who can help companies innovate in different fields.