N.B.’s Potential Motors Powers Up With Federal Investment
FREDERICTON – Driven by a recent $180,000 federal investment, Potential Motors’ co-founder and CEO says the funding will allow them to test their hardware, build prototypes, and commercialize their product.
Sam Poirier, co-founder and CEO of the electric vehicle technology company, is eager to showcase what he and his team have been working on thanks to the new funding announced on Monday through the federal government’s Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).
“Over the past year and a half, we’ve been very focused on building out the software and hardware components. All in all, mainly in simulation and now we’re getting into a lot of hardware development and testing in real life,” says Poirier.
“The funding from ACOA is being put towards proving that out in the real world. For us, as a company, we’re talking with OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] in the off-road space, in the automotive space, and really trying to prove out the underlying technology, that we have something that’s really important, and that is actually able to demonstrate that in showcase prototypes and things like that.”
Poirier says he and his team have been developing technology to help improve electric vehicles off-road operations. The technology considers the different hardware inside the vehicle holistically so it can operate safely off-road.
“What we’re focused on is being able to predictively look at the terrain that the vehicle is driving over and guide what to take note of, whether there’s going to be patches of dirt or terrain that are going to cause flip with the vehicle,” he says. “We can kind of identify that in advance and then make decisions within the vehicle using our AI model to determine how best to be able to change how the motors are moving or change how the suspension is accelerating.”
The technology of Potential Motors also optimizes steering, power, and efficiency with the help of their artificial intelligence.
The company’s goals also align with clean technology by promoting the standardization of electric vehicles. Their work in the clean energy sector is part of what brought Potential Motors their federal funding.
“Technology and innovation are key to the future of Canada’s economy. By investing in projects like Potential Motors, we will continue to create economic opportunities as we work to meet our ambition of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Language, in a release. Joly is also the Minister responsible for ACOA.
Potential Motors’ team is made up of 17 people. Poirier says about half are based out of Fredericton, while some members are based around the country and internationally.
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Poirier says the advantage of working remotely during the pandemic is building a strong network of employees across the world, but they have experienced challenges in building their hardware entirely online.
“We had to transition the work that we’re doing entirely into simulation,” says Poirier. “There are tons of benefits to working in simulation, but there are also tons of challenges in that transition from simulation to real life. In reality, we’re still facing some of those challenges as we’re getting into the hardware side of testing things.”
Despite the obstacles, the team is eager about the future now that they are working with the hardware. Poirier says that he hopes to soon showcase the technology to investors and off-road companies.
“We really want to be one of the drivers in the transition to electric in the off-road industry and I think there’s an opportunity for us as a company with the IP that we’ve been developing to really be able to help in this transition,” he says.
Poirier says he’s grateful for the funding from ACOA and the opportunity to develop the company within Atlantic Canada. He and his team love seeing companies grow out of the East Coast and is happy to see Potential Motors as part of that growth.
“Everyone on the team just loves the stuff and lives and breathes it. In their free time, they’re still working on this or something related to it,” he says. “When you’re working with people like that every day, it’s pretty hard not to get super excited and passionate about what you’re doing.”
Liam Floyd is a reporter with Huddle. Send him story suggestions: [email protected].