Pierre-Xavier Roy

Worth knowing

He has taken vehicle systems from idea to patent to production inside a tier-one automotive supplier, and he now knows the cold-chain buyer in food, pharmaceutical and retail who has to be convinced to give up diesel. He advises cleantech founders on innovation strategy and go-to-market as an Executive in Residence. Worth a note if you are commercializing hardware into fleets, logistics or hydrogen.

Story

Pierre-Xavier trained as an automotive engineer at ESTACA in France and spent 25 years in product innovation and business development at Magna International and Forvia, co-inventing a patented vehicular module along the way. In 2021 he co-founded Hydrocool in Toronto, aiming at one of freight's stubborn emissions problems: the diesel engines that keep refrigerated trailers cold. The company added an AI layer to the unit and, in 2023, a development partnership with Invotek Group. He also mentors engineering students, including a UBC team that ran the techno-commercial numbers on batteries versus green hydrogen for refrigeration.

Highlights

• Co-Founder and COO, Hydrocool Systems (founded 2021, Toronto)
• Co-inventor, patented vehicular module technology (Intier Automotive)
• Executive in Residence, Foresight Canada cleantech accelerator
• Judge, Ontario Tech University engineering capstone competition (2024)
• Engineering degree, ESTACA