AUTO21 does quite a lot of work on energy-related issues in manufacturing both to improve the energy efficiency of processes and to develop new materials that will basically take weight out of the car and yet retain safety, which is a critical issue; and that will impact the energy consumption of the vehicle while retaining safety. It's important to never let go of that. Then we work on direct energy-related issues such as fuel economy, vehicle emissions, things like that. We have innovative work in clean diesels and fuel cells and alternate fuels and so on.
We have what I would term a very effective program. It's been internationally peer-reviewed and judged to be of very high quality. The key thing--and I think my colleague would support me here--is to connect the people creating the knowledge with the people who can eventually put it to use. If that is done, Canadian researchers can compete with any researchers in the world, and the implementation by Canadian companies will be top-notch.
The problem we run into--and I really support what my colleague said--is when researchers are working in isolation without a place for the knowledge to go. This idea that knowledge is good school of thought and that if you create the knowledge they will come--I'm sorry, it just doesn't work that well.