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Power Corp. of Canada is giving Concordia University $4 million to help finance research into clean sources of power.
Controlled by the Desmarais family, Montreal-based Power Corp. is one of Canada’s largest companies, with a focus on financial services.
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The donation, announced Wednesday, will help fund Volt-age, an inter-university clean energy and decarbonization research program.
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Led by Concordia, Volt-age is “designed to innovate novel energy sources, secure new infrastructure and deliver affordable, green energy under diverse conditions across Canada,” the university said.
The donation “recognizes our leadership in sustainability, but it will also help us innovate even more in the renewable technology space,” Concordia president Graham Carr said.
Volt-age was announced last year when the federal government gave Concordia the largest grant in its history — $123 million to help finance work aimed at tackling climate change and driving sustainability research.
Concordia “has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership in environmental technologies,” said Paul C. Genest, a senior vice-president at Power Corp.
He said the donation will “further catalyze groundbreaking solutions for the betterment of society.”
Concordia said the $4 million will help finance business development efforts, pilot projects related to clean technology and a fund that “supports the development and maturation of transformative technologies.”
Volt-age is a partnership with the University of Calgary, Toronto Metropolitan University and Dalhousie University.
Dominique Bérubé, vice-president of research and graduate studies at Concordia, said the donation “provides targeted resources to build bridges between our researchers and industrial partners, and between communities and policymakers, accelerating and increasing the impact of research to help us respond to the urgent challenges of climate change.”
In December, a venture capital firm backed by Power Corp. raised $37 million U.S. for a new climate-technology fund. Diagram Ventures looks for investments in early-stage companies with promising technology to reduce emissions.
ariga@postmedia.com
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