New centre of excellence for energy for Ontario

Toronto, ON – The Ontario government is providing $8 million in funding, over four years, to create a new centre of excellence for energy.

The new centre is intended to help to explore options for viable, affordable long-term and environmentally-friendly energy supplies, increase the number of high-value jobs and strengthen the province’s industrial base, aid in research and development, and foster linkages and networks among research institutions, business and energy industry experts.

The new centre will operate as a division of the Ontario Centres of Excellence, a non-profit corporation established by the Ontario government in 1987 to support research excellence. The four other centres promote research in photonics, information technology, earth and space technology and materials and manufacturing.

The Ontario Centres of Excellence linked approximately 800 companies to nearly 4,000 academic researchers at more than 200 post-secondary institutions, and attracted $24 million in investments from the private sector in the year ending March 31, 2004.

The Centre of Excellence for Energy is expected to be in operation in the spring and build even more value into the successful Ontario Centres of Excellence program. It will explore options for leveraging funding from the private sector, and work to increase the development of new energy technologies and bring them into the marketplace. Ontario is an active partner in the development of emerging energy technologies such as fuel cell and hydrogen systems, bio-fuels production, wind power and alternative energy vehicle development.