The chargers will be installed in urban areas across Canada and offer up to 7 kWh (or 50km) of free charging per EV, per day

Charging network operator, Jolt, is expanding in Canada following the announcement of a $194 million loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

The Australian-headquartered company will use the funds to install up to 1,500 curbside EV chargers in urban centres across Canada.

“Curbside fast charging is critical to the transition to electric vehicles, and providing fast, free charging to those who do not have access to off street charging is JOLT’s goal for its expansion in Canada,” said Jolt CEO, Doug McNamee, in a press release.

In addition, Jolt says each of its chargers will offer 7 kWh (equivalent to 50km of range) of free charging per vehicle, per day. Jolt estimates this could equate to $1,100 in savings for EV drivers every year.

Jolt in Canada

Currently Jolt has two charging stations in operation in Canada with speeds ranging from 25 kW to 50 kW.

Both are located in the Greater Toronto Area and opened in September 2024. But the company has been pledging to expand to 5,000 chargers across Canada (harnessing its partnership with Telus to do so).

What sets Jolt apart from other networks is that its chargers provide two income streams: charging and advertising.

“We were really impressed by Jolt’s capabilities and the existing charging network they have globally. We thought they had a really interesting business model and platform where they integrate digital out-of-home advertising with EV charging,” says Melissa Chow, director of investments at the CIB.

“This really allows them to provide affordable charging to citizens and Canadians living in urban areas.”

Chow says the CIB views Jolt as an important part of the solution for urban charging access — particularly for those who live in multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs).

CIB’s investment strategy

To date, the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) says it has invested $650 million expanding public EV charging access. That equates to roughly 5,500 public charging ports.

The loans are distributed through the CIB’s Charging and Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure Initiative (CHRI), which is designed to provide financial support to the private sector as it looks to build out large-scale zero-emission refuelling projects.

“Our financing is structured to share in risk related to EV adoption and charger utilization. We do this by aligning repayment of our loan with utilization and we also provide incentives to our private sector partners, such as Jolt, to enhance charger reliability by requiring our borrowers to meet an uptime standard,” says Chow.

The CIB requires 97 per cent charger uptime and “failure to meet the standard ultimately impacts [the company’s] repayment obligations and the interest rate that we charge on our loan.”

Chow says the CIB is continuing to look into investment opportunities for EV charging.