Sudbury’s renowned Cambrian College is to establish a “Battery Electric Vehicle Lab” after being named a recipient of federal government funding through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) initiative.

Cambrian’s BEV lab is one of 150 projects across Canada to receive funding, with the C$45 million ($35 million) in funding dished out to 43 institutions.

The C$1 million in funding will “provide a significant jolt to our ongoing efforts to help heavy industry adopt battery-electric vehicles and technologies”, Cambrian said in a Twitter post.

The government, in announcing its funding, said: “By establishing the Battery Electric Vehicle Lab, Cambrian College and its Director, Applied Research & Innovation, Michael Commito, hope to encourage this industry to adopt battery-electric vehicles and equipment.

“Ultimately, this project will allow companies to lower operating costs, improve worker health and safety, and play a part in fighting climate change.”

Last year, fellow Sudbury local, MacLean Engineering, partnered with Cambrian to support skills and technology development for the “electric, automated, and digitalised mine of today and tomorrow”.