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June 27, 2023 (Oshawa, Ont.) —The Durham Regional Technology Development Site (Durham RTDS), The Region of Durham and the Region of Durham Paramedic Services (RDPS) announced today the launch of the “Mobile Air Quality Monitoring for Emergency Vehicles” Challenge.
The challenge invites innovators, startups and small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to provide a mobile air quality monitoring system that would enable RDPS to collect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data from emergency vehicles while they are in use (idling and in motion). Successful challenge participants can pilot their solutions on Regional emergency vehicles. In addition, successful participants will have access to technical expertise and resources through Ontario Tech University and Durham College, and business advisory services through Oshawa-based innovation centre, Spark Centre.
The Durham Community Energy Plan outlines Durham Region’s ambitious strategy to reduce GHG emissions and seize economic opportunities related to the clean energy transition. It presents a low-carbon pathway to 2050 that lays out long-term strategies to reduce GHG emissions while accelerating economic growth. This challenge will help Durham Region to better understand its contribution with real-time monitoring of emergency vehicles to make data-informed decisions moving forward.
Durham RTDS is a consortium of world-class support for startups and SMEs with innovation in electric and connected vehicles, smart mobility and smart communities. Funded by the Ontario Centre of Innovation as part of the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) program, Durham RTDS connects key players in Durham Region to develop and test these innovations in real-world environments and advances them to commercialization and adoption. In 2022, it launched its series of challenges for solutions to regional transportation challenges to startups and SMEs. Successful challenge participants reap significant benefits, prime for accelerating their innovation to market, including the opportunity to pilot their solutions in Durham Region utilizing Regional infrastructure.
Quotes
“These pilot, yet innovative, solutions provide companies with the chance to build relationships while extending company research and development. The Region can benefit from this challenge, as it puts forward opportunities for increased road safety, better road condition monitoring, better collection and analysis of transportation-related information, reduced environment and carbon footprint, and innovative new products and services to improve the Region.”
- John Henry, Regional Chair and Chief Executive Officer, The Regional Municipality of Durham
“Innovation in capital-intensive sectors like automotive is normally not open to small and medium businesses. The approach of the Durham RTDS in developing these innovation challenges, in partnership with the Region of Durham, provides startups a way to be part of the transition to electrification and smart mobility.”
– Sherry Colbourne, President & CEO, Spark Centre
Full details of the “Mobile Air Quality Monitoring for Emergency Vehicles” Challenge can be found at durhamrtds.ca/challenges
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Melissa Nowakowski
Communications and PR Specialist, Spark Centre
mnowakowski@sparkcentre.org
