Skip to content

Sudbury college, manufacturer partnering on battery-electric vehicle maintenance training

Cambrian College students will gain practical learning at MacLean Engineering test site

Sudbury students training in battery-electric vehicle (BEV) maintenance will gain their practical learning at MacLean Engineering’s underground test site in Lively.

Cambrian College announced on Jan. 20 it’s partnering with the equipment manufacturer on a newly introduced industrial battery-electric vehicle maintenance program, which is designed to train heavy duty equipment technicians currently working in the mining sector on the ins and outs of battery-electric vehicle maintenance.

The college developed its curriculum, in part, with technical input from MacLean, which is the country’s largest manufacturer of underground mining vehicles.

Cambrian said its students will also have an opportunity to work directly with MacLean’s advanced vehicle technology (AVT) team on mechatronics projects.

In 2019, Cambrian College was designated a Technology Access Centre, specific to the mining technology sector, which comes with funding to support technology development and acceleration. 

Want to read more stories about business in the North? Subscribe to our newsletter.

“Practical training for BEV mechanics and applied research opportunities for the next generation of mechatronics professionals to facilitate the adoption of on vehicle technology – these are concrete examples of MacLean leveraging its test decline in Greater Sudbury to make a difference in the industry,” Stella Holloway, MacLean’s general manager for Northern Ontario Operations, said in a news release.

“This is a chance for us to walk the talk when it comes to ramping up our research and training facility to actively support long-term, positive change in mining, and I’m thrilled that we’re doing this in partnership with Cambrian.” 

Areas covered by the maintenance course include fundamentals of battery electric vehicle safety, introduction to battery electric mobile equipment, introduction to battery electric vehicle communication and troubleshooting, and practical battery electric vehicle training.