Swedish telecommunications multinational Ericsson has committed to a joint investment with Canada’s government of C$$470m ($351.6m) in research and development (R&D) centres, according to a company announcement on April 17.

The investment, which will be across five years, is expected to create and upskill hundreds of jobs at Ericsson’s Ottawa, Ontario and Montreal facilities. It will focus on advanced 5G, 6G, quantum computing and artificial intelligence for mobile networks, among other things. 

“Ericsson’s R&D investment partnership with the Canadian government, supported by world-class talent in Ottawa and Montreal, will boost innovation and ultimately help to improve the lives of millions of people,” Börje Ekholm, president and CEO of Ericsson, said in the announcement. 

The investment was announced at Ericsson’s Ottawa facility in the presence of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry François-Philippe Champagne.

White House announces fresh EV investments 

In a statement on April 17, US president Joe Biden’s administration announced new private and public sector investments for “affordable” electric vehicles (EV). These announcements fall under the administration’s “EV acceleration challenge”, where it has called upon investors and stakeholders to make commitments to support the electrification of the automotive sector.   

Announcements span car-sharing and EV charging businesses: Uber is committing to reach 400 million EV miles driven on its US platform by the end of 2023; the city of Madison, Wisconsin, is committing to convert the 900 petrol-powered vehicles in its fleet to EVs by 2030; and Blink Charging is investing $49m to increase its manufacturing capacity for chargers four-fold per year by 2024. 

This follows new proposed rules issued last week by the Environmental Protection Agency updating emissions standards which, if finalised, could mean that more than two-thirds of new sedans, crossovers, SUVs and light trucks sold by 2032 must be electric.   

Eli Lilly invests $3.7bn in Indiana

Pharmaceuticals giant Eli Lilly and Company said in an announcement on April 17 that it will invest $1.6bn and add another 200 new jobs at its two new manufacturing sites within the Leap Innovation Park in Boone County, in the US state of Indiana. This brings the company’s total commitment in the park to $3.7bn, making it the company’s largest manufacturing investment at a single location. 

The 200 additional jobs represent positions for highly skilled workers, such as engineers, operating personnel and lab technicians.

“We’re investing at record levels in our home state to help our communities and economy thrive and enhance educational opportunities for more students. We look forward to doing our part to make Indiana an even better place to work and live, while fostering cutting-edge innovation in our state,” Lilly’s chair and CEO Dave Ricks said in a statement.

And finally: Michael Dell, founder of computing giant Dell Technologies, tells the Financial Times that he is “intently focused” on buying components from outside China due to growing concern over supply-chain disruptions.