R&D Partnership Fund

For more on this program’s current status, please visit the Programs Overview.

Program Overview

Focus Areas:

The R&D Partnership Fund supports projects related to the development, testing, validation, and demonstration of automotive and mobility technologies in four focus areas:

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (C/AV), Smart Mobility and AI
Electric Vehicles (EV)
Advanced Charging and Vehicle to Grid (A/C & V2G)
Semiconductor and Hardware (S&H)

Please refer to the Program Guidelines for examples of accepted automotive technologies and mobility solutions.

Objectives

For eligible projects, applicants, and partners:

Commercialization of Ontario-made technologies
Demonstration of Ontario-made technologies to potential customers
Relationships with researchers to extend company R&D
Marketable solutions to current challenges
Public/private partnerships and collaboration

For society:

Increased road safety
Better road condition monitoring
Better collection and analysis of transportation-related information
Innovative new products and services to improve driver performance
Reduced environmental and carbon footprint

Eligibility

Eligible applicants:

Applicants are small and medium enterprises (SME) defined as having fewer than 500 global, full-time employees.
Applicants are required to have operations in Ontario and carry out their project in Ontario.

Eligible partners:

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
National and multinational enterprises (NEs and MNEs)
Academic institutions (as clients only)
Municipalities
Indigenous communities
Not-for-profit organizations representing industry
Crown corporations
Transit authorities

Additional partners can also join the project. There is no limit on the number of partners. Partnerships should represent significant potential commercial opportunities for all parties.

Eligible projects:

One applicant and a minimum of one partner, as defined above.

This program is not intended to prove feasibility or conduct basic technology research. Projects need to be advancing towards commercialization and at Technology Readiness Level 3-9.
Typical project activities include technology development, demonstration, product/service validation, testing, and piloting.
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.
Eligible projects MUST include demonstration of actual products that can be showcased in Ontario at events, on the road, to OCI and its partners, and/or at customer sites.

How Co-Investment Works

The R&D Partnership Fund has two streams. Stream 1 projects support approved projects with up to $100,000 in funding over a maximum period of 12 months. Stream 2 projects support approved projects with up to $1,000,000 in funding over a maximum of 24 months. All funds must be matched by a minimum 2:1 contribution from applicants and/or private sector partners.

How to Apply

Stream 1 (up to $100K): Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year.

Stream 2 (up to $1M): Consists of two stages, an expression of interest (EOI) and a Full Application and presentation.

To begin the process, please complete a client intake form. An OCI Business Development Manager (BD) will contact you to discuss the opportunity and assist you. Your OCI BD will also maintain oversight responsibility for the OCI components of any approved project.

Reference documentation (the Program Guidelines, the OCI Funding Agreement, the Eligible Expenditures Guide, the Full Proposal Questionnaire, the Letter of Support Template, and the Data and Information Sharing Protocol (DISP) documents) are available on the OVIN Resource Document Page.

Intake Form

Submit this intake form and see if this program is the right fit for your business!

GET STARTED