R&D Partnership Fund -WinterTech Development Program

OVIN’s R&D Partnership Fund – WinterTech Development Program supports Ontario small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and their partners to validate, test, prototype, and demonstrate new products and technologies designed to meet the unique demands of winter weather conditions.

WinterTech Development leverages the strengths and innovative capabilities of Ontario SMEs in the automotive and mobility sector and our unique winter weather conditions to establish the province as a test bed for mobility products and services in severe winter weather conditions.

Because of OVIN’s WinterTech Development program, Ontario is a global leader in the commercialization of new winter-ready mobility technologies and solutions.

WinterTech Development supports projects related to technology/product/service validation, testing, demonstration and prototyping of mobility products and services in severe winter weather conditions in the following Priority Areas:

• Mass light vehicles, such as cars, trucks, and vans
• Heavy duty vehicles, including commercial vehicles, trucks, buses, recreational vehicles (RVs), and others used for goods movement
• Transportation infrastructure
• Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
• Transit-supportive systems and vehicles

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

The R&D Partnership Fund – Wintertech Development Program supports approved projects with up to $500,000 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.

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. 
• Wintertech supports a total budget of up to $1,500,000 over 24 months
• This program is not intended to prove feasibility or for basic technology research. Projects should be at Technology Readiness Level 5-9.
• 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.

The WinterTech Development Program contains two stages: an expression of interest (EOI) and a full application. 

To inquire about the program and to open an application, 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.