Impact round 2025

Advancing electrification for shared prosperity

Volt-Age is investing in research that accelerates electrification and its benefits for society. Through the Impact Round 2025, two types of projects have been selected for funding: Impact Projects, which drive large-scale technological innovation, and Living Labs, which foster collaboration between researchers and societal partners in real-world settings.

Together, these initiatives are developing practical solutions to make electrification more accessible, sustainable, and equitable. Explore the funded projects below to see how they are shaping a future where electrification drives economic opportunity and shared prosperity.

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Impact projects

Design and Operation of Net-Zero Smart Resilient Buildings and Infrastructure

PI: Andreas Athienitis (Concordia University)
Co-PIs: Alan Fung (Toronto Metropolitan University), Khaled Galal (Concordia University), Hua Ge (Concordia University), Caroline Hachem-Vermette (Concordia University), Luiz Lopes (Concordia University), Mohamed Ouf (Concordia University), Prag Pillay (Concordia University), Ahmed Soliman (Concordia University), Lukas Swan (Dalhousie University)

Securing Smart Environments

PI: Lorenzo De Carli (University of Calgary)
Co-PIs: Mourad Debabbi (Concordia University), Carol Fung (Concordia University), Israat Haque (Dalhousie University), Hadis Karimipour (University of Calgary), Atefeh (Atty) Mashatan (Toronto Metropolitan University), Rei Safavi-Naini (University of Calgary), Jun Yan (Concordia University), Nur Zincir-Heywood (Dalhousie University)

CES Community Energy Solutions

PI: Ursula Eicker (Concordia University)
Co-PIs: Yann-Gaël Guéhéneuc (Concordia University), Caroline Hachem-Vermette (Concordia University), Ivan Kantor (Concordia University), Adriane MacDonald (Concordia University), Jenn McArthur (Toronto Metropolitan University), Erkan Yönder (Concordia University)

Closing the Water-Energy-Food-Loop: Building-Integrated Aquaponic Greenhouses for All, from Remote Communities to Metropolises

PI: Bruno Lee (Concordia University)
Co-PIs: Anjan Bhowmick (Concordia University), Luis D. Virla Alvarado (University of Calgary), Liangzhu Leon Wang (Concordia University), Mehmet Ozsoy (Concordia University), Lucia Tirca (Concordia University), Thomas Walker (Concordia University), Erkan Yönder (Concordia University)

DECODER: Digitalization for Energy-Efficiency Through Commissioning and Decarbonization Retrofits

PI: Jennifer McArthur (Toronto Metropolitan University)
Co-PIs: Manar Amayri (Concordia University), Nizar Bouguila (Concordia University), Ursula Eicker (Concordia University), Yann-Gaël Guéhéneuc (Concordia University), Mazdak Nik-Bakht (Concordia University), Sumin Song (Concordia University)

Electrified Transportation, Emergency Power, and Microgrid Design for Indigenous, Remote, and Local Communities

PI: Prag Pillay (Concordia University)
Co-PIs: Mohammadreza Arani (Toronto Metropolitan University), Andreas Athienitis (Concordia University), Muthu Packirisamy (Concordia University), Tanja Tajmel (Concordia University), Bala Venkatesh (Toronto Metropolitan University)

Sodium-ion batteries for electrification of society: Cradle to grave

PI: Lukas Swan (Dalhousie University)
Co-PIs: Stanley Asah (Dalhousie University), Khaled Benis (Dalhousie University), Jeff Dahn (Dalhousie University), Marc-Antoni Goulet (Concordia University), Philippe Gray (University of Calgary), Dominic Groulx (Dalhousie University), Azadeh Kermanshahi-pour (Dalhousie University), Michael Metzger (Dalhousie University), Mark Obrovac (Dalhousie University), Penghao Xiao (Dalhousie University), Chongyin Yang (Dalhousie University)

Advancing Autonomous Energy Networks in the North: Research and Development of Technologies for Extreme Cold Environments

PI: Michel Trudeau (Concordia University)
Co-PIs: Ahmad Abdellatif (University of Calgary), Elyse Amend (Concordia University), Zhi Chen (Concordia University), Aphrodite Salas (Concordia University), Emad Shihab (Concordia University), Karim Zaghib (Concordia University)

Transforming Canadian Cities: Toward Equitable and Decarbonized Urban Transportation through Electrification, Automation, Shared Use, and Transit-Oriented Development

PI: Thomas Walker (Concordia University)
Co-PIs: Anjali Awasthi (Concordia University), Martin Danyluk (Concordia University), Alex de Barros (University of Calgary), Merkebe Demissie (University of Calgary), Leila Ghaffari (Concordia University), Govind Gopakumar (Concordia University), Lina Kattan (University of Calgary), Bruno Lee (Concordia University), Saeid Saidi (University of Calgary), Craig Townsend (Concordia University)

Transforming Built and Urban Microclimates: Advancing Resilience Science for Vulnerable Populations in a Decarbonized and Electrified Canada

PI: Liangzhu Leon Wang (Concordia University)
Co-PIs: Honghao Fu (Concordia University), Hua Ge (Concordia University), Biao Li (Concordia University), Muthu Packirisamy (Concordia University), Marius Paraschivoiu (Concordia University), Nathalie Phillips (Concordia University), Ted Strathopoulos (Concordia University), Jinqiu Yang (Concordia University), Carly Ziter (Concordia University)

Ultra-High Energy Density and Fast Charging Lithium Rechargeable Batteries for the Electrification of Society: From Lab to Market

PI: Karim Zaghib (Concordia University)
Co-PIs: Sixu Deng (Concordia University), Xia Li (Concordia University), Michel Trudeau (Concordia University), Thomas Walker (Concordia University), Penghao Xiao (Dalhousie University)

Living Labs projects

Creeburn Lake Lodge: A climate-land-energy-water reconciliation hub as a Living Lab for Electrification of Ecosystem monitoring and restoration (Creeburn CLEAR hub)

PI: Luis D. Virla Alvarado (University of Calgary)
Co-PIs: Laleh Behjat (University of Calgary), Ivan Kantor (Concordia University), Sabrina Peric (University of Calgary)

Electrifying Concordia: A Living Lab on Sustainable and Community-Driven Decarbonization

PI: Damon Matthews (Concordia University)
Co-PIs: Govind Gopakumar (Concordia University), Marc-Antoni Goulet (Concordia University), Alexandra Lesnikowski (Concordia University), Adriane MacDonald (Concordia University)

Electrifying Montreal International Airport: A Living Lab Demonstrating Stakeholder-Driven Pathways to Decarbonization of Major Infrastructure

PI: Mohamed Ouf (Concordia University)
Co-PIs: Andreas Athienitis (Concordia University), Ahmad Hammami (Concordia University), Helen Stopps (Toronto Metropolitan University), Radu Zmeureanu (Concordia University)

Evaluation and decision process

All Impact Round applications were evaluated using a transparent and equitable process.

View the evaluation and decision process