2024 Year in Review

In 2024, Accelerate spearheaded a number of collaborative initiatives aimed at strengthening Canada’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) industry. From convening critical conversations with industry leaders to launching a national roadmap to hosting impactful events, Accelerate drove action needed to solidify Canada’s position in the global ZEV ecosystem. Here’s a look back at the milestones that defined a year of progress and ambition.

Missing Links in the ZEV Supply Chain Webinar

Accelerate and the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters hosted a conversation on advancing the Canadian zero-emission vehicle supply chain, with a focus on development outside of big battery plant investments and minerals production. The panel discussed supply chain gaps further downstream in Canada’s manufacturing sectors and how to overcome them, effective ways to transition existing suppliers in the automotive supply chain, and the role of innovation, automation, and workforce upskilling.

Peer Roundtable with RBC Capital Markets:

Investing into Canada's Critical Mineral and Battery Ecosystem

In partnership with RBC Capital Markets, Accelerate hosted senior public and private sector investors, mining and battery executives, entrepreneurs and government representatives for a Bay Street roundtable discussion on pathways to unlock more capital investment into Canada’s upstream and midstream battery ecosystem.Being the first to invest in new technologies and projects can be risky and participants discussed whether private equity or governments should make the initial bet. These senior leaders also discussed the regulatory and geopolitical challenges that can also make it difficult for projects to move forward. Find the discussion report here.

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Hannover Messe 2024 delegation with the Government of Canada and NGen

In collaboration with the Government of Canada and Next Generation Manufacturing (NGen), Accelerate organized and hosted a delegation of companies from Canada’s critical minerals, battery components and ZEV manufacturing ecosystems at Hannover Messe in Germany, the world’s most important technology trade show. Members of the delegation interacted with thousands of other delegates, including possible partners and investors.

Emerging Battery Ecosystems in Canada and the UK Webinar

Accelerate partnered with Innovate UK to deliver an enlightening webinar that explored the evolving landscapes of battery innovation and production ecosystems in the UK and Canada. Panelists shared insights from the vantage points of key institutional actors and pioneering companies within the battery production and materials development sectors.

Launch of our national industry consultation to Build Canada’s Next Champion Industry Within North America

Accelerate launched a national industry consultation to seek input from stakeholders on a strategic ZEV industrial approach aimed atgrowing Canada's ZEV industry in alignment with North American economic and geopolitical goals, including sustainable development, robust manufacturing, and innovation growth. The consultation remained open through the summer, generating 65 comment letters.

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BEV in Depth — Mines to Mobility Conference Keynote:

Getting to Great! Building a Vision for Canada’s ZEV Industry

Accelerate partnered with the City of Sudbury on one of Canada’s most important industry conferences, BEV in Depth – Mines to Mobility . Our keynote remarks, “Getting to Great: Building a Vision for Canada’s ZEV Industry” centred on the need for an advanced industrial strategy for the sector and invited delegates to contribute their thinking to Accelerate’s national consultation.

Advancing the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy

Accelerate published ‘Advancing the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy’, which summarizes the work of Accelerate’s Critical Minerals Task Force in the past year.Through a combination of workshops and stakeholder interviews, The Critical Minerals Task Force developed this analysis of progress so far within Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy and outlined how government and industry can move forward to fully unlock our resource potential.

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Launch of the Canadian Battery Innovation Roadmap

Accelerate launched Canada’s Battery Innovation Roadmap, a groundbreaking report and online tool that maps out how to support the development of Canada’s domestic battery industry. This analysis establishes clear targets for government and industry, beginning with the need to establish a national Canadian Battery Alliance. Accelerate has briefed government departments, government and opposition leaders, as well as interested potential partners, including Batteries Europe, on the Roadmap.

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Made In Canada

Building Canada's Next Champion Industry Within North America

Accelerate hosted an important “Made in Canada” summit in Windsor, Ontario, convening ZEV industry CEOs and other senior leaders from across the country in a Chatham House setting to workshop strategies to position Canada as a North American and global leader in the ZEV ecosystem.In collaboration with NGen, Propulsion Quebec, Invest Windsor-Essex, Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, this summit allowed senior executives from across the supply chain to work directly together on the steps needed to achieve a common vision of success for Canada’s ZEV industry.

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The Accelerate ZEV Industry Leaders' Workshop Report

Amid investment and geopolitical headwinds, our October Made in Canada summit emphasized building an industrial strategy to connect Canada’s mineral resources to EV and battery manufacturing while aligning with economic and environmental goals. Key themes included maintaining the momentum we’ve gained so far, prioritizing innovation, and prioritizing government – industry collaboration and streamlining government policies to enable growth.

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Canada Falling Behind in Building leaders and an EV Supply Chain (Op-ed in Toronto Star)

Accelerate CEO & President Matthew Fortier published an opinion piece emphasizing that Canada's automotive industry is deeply integrated with the U.S., making it vulnerable to proposed U.S. tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. These tariffs could disrupt supply chains, increase costs, and weaken North America's competitiveness in the electric vehicle sector, potentially benefiting global competitors like China. These challenges urgently require a proactive Canadian ZEV strategy.

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Letter to Prime Minister regarding impact to ZEV supply chain of threatened U.S. tariffs

Accelerate sent an open-letter to the Prime Minister on the risks of threatened proposed tariffs on Canadian goods. Drawn directly from consultation with our industry stakeholders, the letter detailed how Canada must proactively develop our ZEV industry to best position ourselves as an indispensable trading and security partner in the North American region.

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Pre-launching of the Beta version of the ZEV Industry Platform

The ZEV Industry Platform is an innovative digital hub designed to connect stakeholders across Canada's zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) supply chain . It will serve as a comprehensive resource and networking tool, fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing, and business opportunities in the ZEV ecosystem.

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