The Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec awards the 2016 Prix Génie innovation to the Innovative Vehicle Institute for its contribution to the eLion electric school bus design

MONTREAL, April 19, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) awarded the 2016 Prix Génie innovation to the team at the Innovative Vehicle Institute (IVI) who supported the Lion Bus company in the design of the eLion electric school bus, the first fully electric heavy vehicle to be marketed in North America. François Adam, Eng., General Manager of IVI, received the award on behalf of the project's team of engineers at the 2016 Soirée de l'excellence en génie, which was held in conjunction with the OIQ's Annual Conference.

The main challenge that IVI engineers succeeded in meeting was to design a rechargeable energy storage system of very large size and adapted to Québec's climate. Six fully electric vehicles were designed in 2015. Lion Bus is now at the manufacturing stage and the commercialization of the vehicle will encourage growth in this emerging industrial sector.

The eLion bus has huge advantages when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Approximately 8,000 school buses running on diesel fuel regularly cross Québec to bring tens of thousands of students to school. GHG emissions could be reduced by 23 tonnes per year if diesel school busses were replaced with electric models.

This project is in line with Québec's efforts to fight climate change. It is referred to as an example of Québec engineering's contribution in the Québec government's 2015-2020 Transportation Electrification Action Plan. Such innovations will also help make the recently unveiled Québec government 2030 energy policy become a reality.

The goal of the Prix Génie innovation is to encourage innovative engineering by recognizing its value, both in terms of the results achieved and the efforts made. Innovative engineering rewarded by this prize must help improve the quality of human life and reflect the fundamental values of the engineering, which are competence, ethics, responsibility and social commitment.

About the Innovative Vehicle Institute (IVI)
The mission of IVI is to support businesses and organizations in the fields of applied research, development, assessment and implementation of innovative vehicle technologies. The goal of IVI services is to support its clients, mostly SMEs, in order to develop innovative and technologically advanced products. Its projects target transportation electrification and automation, vehicle energy efficiency and reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) and polluting emissions. They also value renewable energy sources for ground transportation.

About the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec
Founded in 1920, the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec has a membership of some 62,000 engineering professionals in all fields, except forest engineering. The mission of the OIQ is to ensure the protection of the public by supervising the practice of the profession within the framework of its constituent laws and ensure that the profession serves the public interest. For more information, go to the Web site www.oiq.qc.ca.

 

SOURCE Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec

Patrick Leblanc, Communications Advisor, Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, Tel.: [phone] or 1 800 461-6141, extension 3108