The plan hinges on a $220-million loan from the CIB, the first commitment out of its $500-million Charging and Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure Initiative, which was established last year

The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and Quebec-based charging network operator FLO have announced a plan to install over 2,000 public DC fast charger ports across the country by 2027 — an amount roughly equal to the total number of fast-charging ports currently installed in Canada.

The CIB is providing a loan of $220 million to fund the installation of these fast chargers. This marks the first investment under the CIB’s Charging and Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure (CHRI) initiative.

Launched in September 2022, the CHRI initiative, with a budget of $500 million, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector by stimulating the private sector’s rollout of large-scale charging infrastructure and hydrogen refuelling stations, promoting private investments, and fostering economic opportunities.

“Since the launch of our Charging and Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure initiative, we moved quickly to collaborate with the private sector and expand the availability of EV charging infrastructure,” says Ehren Cory, CEO of the CIB, in a press note.

“Our $220-million investment with FLO… will help alleviate range anxiety and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We look forward to building new partnerships that support the large-scale deployment of charging and hydrogen refuelling stations across Canada.”

The CIB’s financing structure is designed to offset the private sector’s reluctance to invest in charging infrastructure due to uncertainties around EV adoption rates and charger utilization. Repayment begins after construction, with interest payments proportional to usage levels, meaning higher usage rates lead to higher interest payments and vice versa.

Network build-out

The CIB-funded fast charger network will be built using FLO’s recently launched dual-port FLO Ultra, a 320 kW ultra-fast charger, which the company says can charge most electric vehicles to 80 per cent in 15 minutes.

The chargers will be installed at approximately 400 sites across Canada over the next four years.

FLO will collaborate with site hosts to set up chargers along transportation corridors and in urban and suburban areas with populations over 20,000. FLO will be responsible for managing the chargers’ planning, installation and operation at these locations.

Site hosts who are interested in hosting a FLO charging site can obtain additional information on the FLO site.

The new CIB-funded FLO ports will count towards the federal government’s pledge to install 50,000 new EV chargers and hydrogen refuelling stations across Canada by 2026.

“With about 2,000 universal public fast-charging ports currently in Canada, this extraordinary partnership comes close to almost doubling the number of public DCFCs across the country,” says Louis Tremblay, president and CEO of FLO.

“We are pleased to have a lending partner like the CIB and look forward to working together to accelerate the expansion of fast and reliable EV charging, which is critical to Canadian EV adoption.”