Discussions between City Hall and Trent University surrounding the future of Cleantech Commons have resumed under Peterborough’s new Mayor, Jeff Leal. On January 23rd, Leal made mention of his recent meeting with Trent’s President, Leo Groarke and Julie Davis, VP of External Relations and Development, following a routine presentation and update to Council by Rhonda Keenan, President and CEO of Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development (PKED). 

In prior finance committee discussions, Council had entertained a motion from Councillor Keith Riel to defer $1M funding for the project due to the lack of a viable tenant for the as-yet undeveloped property.

Leal echoed sentiments he expressed the previous week, again making it clear that he hopes to work together with the university to ensure that the City is able to see a “return on investment” in Cleantech Commons. To date, the City has spent $6M in bringing water service to the property on Pioneer Road, adjacent to Trent’s Symons Campus. These funds have also involved bringing the road and access to the eighty-five-acre property up to urban standards.

Specifically, Leal noted his interest in attracting e-vehicle companies and food processing. In a conversation with Arthur following the meeting, Leal mentioned the newly opened Maple Leaf Foods plant in London, ON as an example of how the City might begin to address some concerns around industry and sustainability while working with the university and making the most of what employment lands the city has. 

Leal went on to note that his meeting with Groarke and Davis had been “productive” and that he had made it clear that part of the City’s need thus far, he said, is for Trent to be more “flexible” on the types of businesses they bring to the Cleantech commons area. 

For her part, Keenan was clear that PKED’s relationship with Trent on the Cleantech project has been moving forward and remains positive. Her update on PKED’s activities over the second half of 2022 made mention of the organization’s continued participation in Cleantech’s Management Committee meetings.

Significantly, Arthur has confirmed that PKED, which is funded through partnerships with the City of Peterborough and Peterborough County, does not receive any funding from Trent University. The confirmation of this arrangement adds another piece to why the City seems to be growing increasingly interested in the future of the Cleantech project. 

One of the primary concerns for PKED when working with Cleantech, Keenan noted, was the need to make sure that any future tenant has a research relationship with Trent University. She was unable to mention any names of possible companies she had been in contact with but did confirm that “there should be some good news when we have a building.”

In recent weeks, some Councillors have mentioned that they are aware of some possible tenants for the future Cleantech project, but couldn’t name them for reasons of confidentiality and the tenuous nature of the agreements, leading the ever-irascible Riel to call these prospects “hearsay.”

In email communications between Arthur and President Groarke, he referred to the meeting with Mayor Leal as “very preliminary” and noted that nothing had been decided while also noting his curiosity about how the paper knew about the meeting. 

In response to follow-up questions sent to the offices of both Davis and Groarke, Davis provided fulsome answers by way of Trent’s communication department. 

On the topic of tenants, she noted that Trent does have multiple tenants and developers interested in the park. She also noted that “while the pandemic has had an impact on some of their plans, Trent and the City of Peterborough, through Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development, are working hard to expand our business attraction efforts.” 

Among the companies Davis could mention to the paper included Carbonix - an Indigenous-led company which has filed for patents for a process to convert petroleum coke into activated carbon which is used for water purification and land remediation. Carbonix will be a future tenant of the planned incubator. 

According to Davis, Trent has also mentioned the fact that in 2020 the university received $4.8M in funding from FedDev for the Trent Enterprise Centre (TEC). Though no updates on how that money had been spent over the past two and half years was provided.

In relation to Leal’s interest in the possibility of e-vehicle research and manufacturing, Davis also mentioned a recently signed research agreement with Trouvé Victory Inc. According to the press release drafted by Trent about the agreement, Trouvé “has been building momentum in the automotive sector with the launch of several EV designs.” 

Of the meeting overall, Davis shared that Leal “agreed that we have a solid shared understanding of the possibilities and an effective mechanism for making decisions about tenants.”

According to both parties, Noblegen - the tech company which has been touted by Trent as the flagship tenant of Cleantech is still intending to join the project once it is built. Davis wrote in her response to Arthur that Trent continues “to have active discussions with Noblegen, who have publicly stated their intent to locate in the park.” 

At the time of writing, the most recent indication from Noblegen of their intention to locate their enterprise at the future Cleantech Commons site was in October. This announcement came alongside the recognition that previously temporary lay-offs at the company had been made permanent.