Cambrian College gets a $350K boost from Glencore to build its electric vehicle lab

Mining giant Glencore Canada is donating $350,000 to Cambrian College to help it launch its Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Lab.

The money will help cover construction, operating costs and equipment procurement. It also includes funds to provide annual bursaries to Indigenous students who are enrolled in  technology, engineering, and skilled trades programs.

The money is in addition to a $2-million donation the company made in 2012 to build the  Glencore Centre for Innovation on Cambrian's Sudbury, Ont. campus. 

Hands-on learning

Steve Gravelle, the manager of Cambrian's Centre for Smart Mining, said once the lab is up and running, students from multiple disciplines will work on powertrains for underground electric vehicles.

The lab's construction is expected to be completed by this summer.

"What students are going to be contributing to in the lab is full-scale vehicle prototyping, as well as performance testing of the electric powertrains themselves," Gravelle said.

"So it's going to be a dynamic, innovative space for any on-vehicle technology, but specifically we're going to be focusing on the electric powertrain."

Last year, Cambrian launched its Industrial Battery Electric Vehicle Maintenance Certificate Program.

Gravelle said the program, along with the research lab, will prepare students to work on electric vehicles for mining companies around the world.

"There isn't really a solid talent pipeline as it exists now of people that are exiting as battery electric vehicle experts," he said.

"So what we hope to do is to train between 30 and 40 students that work on projects in that lab yearly that'll be going out into the job market with unique skills all across Canada and even, you know, North America and the world."

Matteo Neville, a student in Cambrian's mechatronic engineering technology program, said he looks forward to the new lab.

"It'll provide a lot of hands-on opportunities for the students, myself included," he said.

"So it was very exciting because, obviously, battery electric vehicles are going to become very popular in the near future. So it's a really good opportunity to apply our learning and skills in that area."

Peter Xavier, vice-president of Glencore's Sudbury operations, said the company plans for all vehicles in its Sudbury mines to be fully electric. 

Xavier said the company is already testing electric vehicles, and has a big order coming later this year for its Onaping Depth nickel-copper project.

Electric vehicles save mining companies money on ventilation because they don't have to remove diesel fumes from the air underground. 

Xavier said the research at Cambrian College will benefit the mining industry as a whole.

"With the research component that happens here [...] they're bound to find new novel ways to leverage that technology further and make improvements," he said.