The Québec Minister of Natural Resources and Forests and Minister Responsible for the Bas-Saint-Laurent Region and the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Region, Maïté Blanchette Vézina, today announced a maximum financial assistance of $2M, over three years, to FPInnovations to support the next phases of a truck platooning project aimed at modernizing forestry operations and mitigating the shortage of qualified drivers, during a visit to FPInnovations’ Québec laboratories along with president and CEO Stéphane Renou.
The project aims to operate highly automated platooning trucks on low-traffic forest roads. Platooning involves connecting two or more trucks in convoy, using connectivity technology and automated driver assistance systems. The truck at the head of the platoon, with driver, acts as leader, with the vehicles behind it automatically adapting to changes in movement.
Acknowledging FPInnovations’ crucial contribution to research for the forestry sector, the Minister also took this opportunity to confirm the renewal of government support for its national collaborative research program and automated silviculture initiative, in a total amount of $9 million over five years. This will help guide some of the organization’s research activities, to ensure that the needs of Quebec and its forest industry are taken into account in the fields of wood products, forest operations, pulp and paper, and bio-based products.
Read the complete version of MRNF’s news release (in French) here.
