Project Arrow Gets an Additional $7 Million From Ottawa
Today is Remembrance Day, but it’s likely that many of you have forgotten about Project Arrow. Named after the Canadian-made Avro Arrow interceptor aircraft from the 1950s, this all-electric SUV concept with autonomous driving capabilities is a collaboration between nearly 60 different companies in Canada and led by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA).
The last time we wrote about it was in January 2023 following its debut at CES in Las Vegas. Just a few days ago, the Liberals of Justin Trudeau announced a new investment of $7 million.
- Also: All-Canadian Project Arrow Concept Unveiled at CES
- Also: Project Arrow: Future All-Canadian EV Gets More Public Funding
The goal with this vehicle is to demonstrate Canada’s automotive expertise on a global stage while further supporting EV companies and the supply chain in the country.
A previous investment of over $5 million by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario—along with $1.8 million from the Ontario government and $1.4 million from Quebec—helped facilitate the design and build of Project Arrow as well as its digital twin, which has been used as a leading virtual platform for testing and validating technologies and parts.
Quebec-based Fastco Canada supplied the boldly styled wheels, while the suite of five cameras, four radars and two lidars is supported by technology from Leddartech. The battery is made by VoltaXplore, a joint venture between Martinrea International Inc. and graphene company NanoXplore.
Through this new investment, Ottawa hopes to create more opportunities for Canadian businesses to demonstrate their capabilities and technologies. It is estimated that collaborating partners/businesses have attracted $500 million in incremental contracts as a result of their involvement in the project.
“The Government of Canada’s support for Project Arrow allowed Canadian suppliers to tell their technology innovation and advanced workforce story around the world,” APMA President Flavio Volpe said. “The unprecedented demonstration platform’s expansion will enable the APMA to open doors at global automakers for additional Canadian suppliers to help lead their global ZEV transition.”
The APMA continues to search for companies and suppliers and possibly a car manufacturer to carry out the next phase, dubbed Project Arrow 2.0. However, a production model still looks like a really long shot at this point. You can learn more by visiting projectarrow.ca.