Canada Invests in Clean Technologies for Electric Vehicles

From: Natural Resources Canada

News release

July 29, 2021                                    Toronto, Ontario                                    Natural Resources Canada              

The Government of Canada is making it easier for Canadians to drive electric and transforming the way Canadians get to where they need to go.

Today, as part of #EVWeekinCanada, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Member of Parliament for Beaches–East York, on behalf of the Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources, announced a $12.7-million investment in six clean energy technologies projects to help put Canadians in the driver’s seat on the road to a net-zero future. The investments include:

  • $4.95 million to Hydro One Limited to develop a pilot for heavy-duty electric truck charging stations in Ontario. Hydro One’s pilot for electric trucks will be a model for other utilities and businesses interested in pursuing solutions to electrify heavy-duty transportation across Canada.
  • $2.5 million to the Toronto Transit Commission to implement a smart charging platform for its electric bus fleet. This project is expected to deliver a system to manage peak energy demand and reduce GHG emissions and overall infrastructure costs while optimizing the use of electric buses.
  • $2 million to Opus One Solutions to demonstrate a shared economy model for EV chargers. The project will seek to understand and address the impact of residential EV charging on local networks, as well as assess the potential of repurposing private home chargers through a sharing platform for public use to support growing EV adoption.
  • $1.32 million to Alectra Inc. to develop and implement an EV model for single-family and multi-unit residential buildings. The project will provide convenient and affordable access to EV chargers, manage energy cost increases and provide incentives for encouraging off-peak EV charging in the residential sector.
  • $1.3 million to Geotab Inc. to demonstrate an enhanced SmartCharge Incentive system that includes price signals to allow EV owners to have different charge windows to avoid or limit popular charging times. A price signal allows for an additional incentive for EV owners to charge at a specific time to shift electrical loads at the grid level. 
  • $635,000 to Blackstone Energy Services Inc. to test drive a cost-effective vehicle-to-grid system that uses energy stored in EV batteries to provide cost savings to EV owners by encouraging them to discharge energy during peak electricity demand periods. The project will also provide cost savings to facility operators by offsetting power consumption during these periods.

Funded through Natural Resources Canada’s Green Infrastructure – Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Demonstration Program, these projects aim to accelerate the market entry of next-generation clean energy technologies by supporting demonstration projects for innovative technologies.

Since 2015, Canada has made a historic investment of over $1 billion so far to make EVs more affordable and charging infrastructure more locally accessible. These investments are building a coast-to-coast network of fast chargers and installing chargers in local areas where Canadians live, work and play. The government also provides incentives of up to $5,000 to help Canadians buy EVs and full tax write-offs for businesses purchasing them.

These investments support Canada’s new mandatory target of 100-percent zero-emission light-duty vehicle sales by 2035. Driving down transportation emissions is critical to achieving Canada’s ambitious climate change targets and requires a combination of investments and regulations to support Canadians and industry in this transition.

The government supports green infrastructure projects that create good, middle-class jobs and get us to net-zero emissions by 2050.

Quotes

“We’re giving Canadians the greener options they want to get to where they need to go. We’re building a coast-to-coast network of electric vehicle charging stations from St. John’s to Victoria.
This is how we get to net zero by 2050.”

The Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr.
Minister of Natural Resources

“Our government is committed to strong climate action. These projects will help to green our transportation sector, lower GHG emissions and build a clean energy future.”

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith
Member of Parliament for Beaches–East York

“As the largest transmission and distribution electricity company in Ontario delivering some of the cleanest energy in North America, Hydro One is in a unique position to enable electrification and support the transition to a low-carbon economy. We’re integrating sustainability practices into all aspects of our business as part of our vision for a better and brighter future by developing innovative solutions such as our electric heavy-duty vehicle pilot to help achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”

Jason Rakochy
Senior Vice President, Strategy and Growth
Hydro One 

“As one of North America's largest transit organizations, the TTC continues to be an industry leader in transit electrification as we help pave the way for other cities and agencies to adopt or advance their green bus programs. The TTC currently operates the largest zero-emissions fleet in North America, and with the support of our federal partners, we are taking critical steps toward a greener, more sustainable future.” 

Jaye Robinson
Chair, Toronto Transit Commission 

Innovation is key to solving the crisis of climate change, and to have the leadership of the Government of Canada to partner with is key to driving transformation change. The cost of electrical infrastructure upgrades is one of the key barriers to EV adoption — this project brings forth a sharing economy platform by freeing the home chargers for public consumption while addressing grid constraints in a cost-effective manner with our partners SWTCH and Innisfil InnTerprises.”

Hari Subramaniam
Chief of Strategic Growth, Opus One Solutions 

“Electrification of transportation is a generational opportunity for utilities to be more relevant and meaningful to our customers. Alectra is ready to play a critical role in the clean transportation ecosystem by offering cost-effective EV charging solutions. The AlectraDrive @Home project offers insights on EV charging behaviour at home and on the role incentives play in helping to optimize the impact of increased charging on the grid while accelerating EV adoption.”

Brian Bentz 
President and CEO, Alectra Inc.

“Large-scale adoption of electric vehicles is only possible if the grid is able to support the additional load. We are grateful for Natural Resources Canada’s support of this project, which demonstrates Geotab Energy's upgraded load shaping solution. This new solution adds the ability to reduce charging load during critical peak periods and reduces the number of EVs charging at any given time. Geotab's unique approach provides substantial grid benefit while keeping the EV owner in full control of their charging behaviour — the result is a solution that meets the needs of both the grid and EV owners.”

Eric Mallia
Vice-President, Geotab Energy, Geotab Inc. 

"Blackstone is excited to partner with Natural Resources Canada and our client hosts to offset power demand during peak consumption periods in Ontario by using energy stored in electric vehicle batteries. By leveraging our in-house energy management systems’ expertise and grid edge technology, the EVID funding will grant us a huge step forward in our Vehicle-to-Grid systems development, which we expect will reduce our clients’ power demand charges significantly.”

Grant McArthur
Vice-President Renewables, Blackstone Energy Services 

Associated links

Contacts

Ian Cameron
Senior Communications Advisor
Office of the Minister of Natural Resources
613-447-3488
Ian.Cameron@canada.ca


Media Relations
Natural Resources Canada
Ottawa
343-292-6100
NRCan.media.RNCan@canada.ca


Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan)

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