In December 2025 the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology hosted an event called "Recharge 2025: Inside Canada’s EV Battery Technology" with SAE Central Ontario and the Office of Research of University of Waterloo. The event brought innovators and leaders powering Ontario’s battery ecosystem together.
The global energy transition runs on batteries. From powering EVs to storing renewable energy, batteries offer a clean and scalable solution to reduce emissions. And in Canada, battery innovation begins in Waterloo.
Battery innovation is not new to Canada. We produced the world’s first commercial rechargeable lithium battery in the 1980s. And today, our researchers across Canada are pushing the boundaries of what’s next: from solid-state batteries to beyond-lithium chemistries.
Ontario Battery & Electrochemistry Research Centre (OBEC) at the University of Waterloo, is a one-of-its-kind battery research hub bridging the gap between academic discovery and real-world impact. Co-led by University of Waterloo’s Dr. Linda Nazar, Canada Research Chair in Solid State Energy Materials and Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Dr. Michael Pope, Associate Professor Department of Chemical Engineering, the lab is doing groundbreaking research to develop cleaner and more sustainable energy technologies.