The province is putting the pedal to the metal on automotive innovation with a $17.5 million investment to establish nine Regional Technology Development Sites (RTDS) across Ontario.
One of these has launched in Simcoe County, Barrie, and Orillia.
"This is bringing together the different resources that are already available within the county and the cities that are involved to help entrepreneurs, to help innovators build new companies, to bring new technology to market, and to grow and create good-paying jobs in this community," said Raed Kadri, head of the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN).
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The RTDS is supported by a $1 million investment from OVIN, matched by nearly $1.1 million from industry partners, $1 million from local governments, and more than $600,000 from post-secondary and other non-profit partners, representing an investment of $3.7 million to the region.
Led by the County of Simcoe in partnership with Invest Barrie and the City of Orillia, the hub is designed to help Ontario-based small and medium-sized businesses accelerate the development, testing, and commercialization of next-generation automotive and smart mobility technologies.
"The auto sector has transformed, and as the supply chain expands to adopt new technology around connectivity, autonomy, and electrification, this is us saying to entrepreneurs and our innovators that there is room for you in the supply chain, and we're going to help get you there," Kadri told Barrie 360 at the announcement on Wednesday at the County of Simcoe Administration Centre.
Simcoe County already has a strong automotive foundation, with about 9,000 jobs in vehicle and parts manufacturing and a growing automotive cluster. The new RTDS aims to build on that, boosting advanced manufacturing, innovation, and smart mobility, while driving job creation, attracting investment, and training the next generation of skilled workers.
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall praised the cooperation among all sectors.
"The Ontario government, alongside the County of Simcoe, City of Barrie, City of Orillia, Lakehead University, Georgian College, and many others in the private sector, including Honda and the Oro Automotive Park, really are combining their forces and trying to position our region as an innovation centre for the auto sector for many, many years to come."
Officials say connecting small businesses with world-class testing facilities and commercialization support will help Ontario stay a global leader in automotive and mobility technology, while supporting the province's push toward electrification and clean mobility.
The network of regional partners and assets include:
- Georgian College: Through the Centre of Industrial Simulation and Prototyping (CrISP), Ontario’s first Industry 5.0 sandbox and an NSERC Technology Access Centre, SMEs gain access to digital twin technologies, industrial simulation, and advanced prototyping. Additional support is provided through Georgian’s Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre, including intellectual property strategy, business model refinement, and commercialization planning.
- Lakehead University: Lakehead University’s Orillia campus and the Barrie STEM Hub provide hands-on, high-tech learning and research environments focused on engineering, computer science, and smart mobility technologies. Faculty expertise spans wireless communications, sensors, robotics, machine learning, networking, and the Internet of Things, with additional battery research support available through Lakehead’s Thunder Bay campus. SMEs may also access the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law IP Program and Lakehead’s Ingenuity programming.
- Oro Station Innovation Park: A purpose-built automotive innovation hub offering rugged terrain and controlled testing environments, with additional high-performance automotive facilities under development. Oro Station serves as a key destination for functional testing, validation, and real-world demonstration of emerging technologies.
- Sandbox Centre: Alongside other regional accelerators, the Sandbox Centre delivers targeted commercialization readiness programming, mentorship, and founder support to help SMEs scale and attract strategic partners.
- Honda of Canada Mfg.: Honda provides industry leadership through advisory and mentorship support, helping SMEs align with evolving hybrid and electric vehicle (H/EV) supply chains and industry requirements.
- Access to Municipal Infrastructure: The County of Simcoe and the Cities of Barrie and Orillia are committed to exploring access to municipally owned assets to support SME testing and validation. These include roadways, transit buses, autonomous snow removal equipment, roundabouts, heavy machinery, and rail systems, offering highly controlled, real-world environments for product validation.
