What have been some of the biggest achievements for NORCAT in 2020?

2020 was a remarkable year – one of significant challenges and opportunities. NORCAT has continued to scale into serving global markets given the depth and breadth of our team, our speed to market, our unique assets, our strategic investments in emerging learning technologies, and our long-standing quality of service with global mining companies. 

NORCAT witnessed a dramatic increase in demand for training and development solutions that can be delivered effectively remotely. Concurrent to that, there has been a significant increase in demand from mining companies to understand opportunities to effectively integrate VR, AR and equipment simulation training into their broader learning and development strategies.

NORCAT launched the Open Innovation Challenge platform, serving to identify and engage innovative companies with potential technology solutions to solve some of the most challenging issues facing the global mining industry. Through open innovation and collaboration, this initiative aims to further the acceleration, adoption, and deployment of emerging technologies that are poised to transform the mining sector.  With our inaugural partner Vale, we scouted, engaged, and selected a handful of emerging tech companies from around the world to develop a proof-of-concept solution within one of Vale’s operations. 

In continued efforts to invest in Sudbury’s burgeoning start-up tech ecosystem, NORCAT celebrated the launch of the Sudbury Catalyst Fund (SCF), a unique C$5 million venture capital fund administered by the Nickel Basin Federal Development Corporation in collaboration with the City of Greater Sudbury, FedNor and NORCAT.  Established with the goal to accelerate the growth of scalable tech start-ups, the SCF brings together a variety of partners and angel investors eager to build Northern Ontario’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by investing in and supporting a diversified portfolio of high-growth companies.

What are some of the ways in which NORCAT supports early-stage tech startups and founders?

As it pertains to supporting early-stage tech startups, NORCAT provides mentorship, educational programming and workshops, market research, access to angel investors / Sudbury Catalyst Fund, on-site incubator and co-working space and access to and resources from the NORCAT Underground Centre (for tech ventures selling into the mining industry).

Can you speak of the role NORCAT underground center plays in validating new technologies and training workers to operate them?

Located in the City of Greater Sudbury, NORCAT is the only regional innovation centre in the world that has an operating mine designed to enable start-ups, small / medium enterprises, and international companies to develop, test, and showcase innovative and emerging technologies in an operating mine environment.

Our priority is to become the global “one-stop shop” for all that is the future of mining technology, innovation, and skilled labour training and development.

The NORCAT Underground Centre has become the global destination to see the emerging technologies that are poised to transform the mining industry. In doing so, we have helped build and support Canada’s global reputation as a market leader in the mining industry. 

Can you provide some examples of innovative technologies currently being tested at NORCAT’s facility?

On an annual basis, we support approximately 50 projects, be they development, testing, and / or demonstration, from nearly 40 different mining technology companies.  What is equally important, is we host, on average, one mining company per week eager to see “What’s Next” by visiting and touring the NORCAT Underground Centre.  As a result of this activity, we have helped to create multiple ecosystem collaborations/partnerships to develop new products and ultimately get business done.