The C50 chargers mark the latest milestone in Ivy and ABB’s longstanding partnership to make public retail charging reliable, safe and accessible

Ivy Charging Network has installed the first ABB C50 chargers in North America, with a pair of units now available for EV drivers to use at SmartCentres Orleans, located east of Ottawa.

According to Kush Obhrai, general manager at Ivy Charging Network, adding the new chargers is part of an ongoing effort to modernize Ivy sites and deliver reliable charging experiences.

“ABB is a strong partner and we’re proud to partner with them,” says Obhrai in an interview with Electric Autonomy. “This is the first of these chargers in our network because we’re really focusing on providing customers with safe and reliable charging experiences. We have many ABB chargers in our network, and they’ve performed well so it’s a vote of confidence in that direction.”

Each ABB C50 charger delivers up to 50 kW across two outlets, allowing two vehicles to charge simultaneously. “The site has now been able to charge four cars, where once they can only charge two with the charges we had installed,” adds Obhrai.

Designed for retail charging

At the Orleans site, the chargers are positioned in a prime retail area — exactly the kind of environment the C50 was designed for.

“I think retail charging is the next frontier in EV charging,” says Brandt Hastings, president of North America and chief commercial officer at ABB E-mobility in an interview with Electric Autonomy.

About one in three Canadians rent their homes, which means that they do not have access to at home charging. That share is even higher in major cities.

“Retail charging is how we’re going to continue to accelerate EV adoption and ensure that we’re meeting the critical fueling needs of people who don’t have access to home charging and rely on on-the-go charging for all of their needs,” explains Hastings. “What’s so cool about retail is that you can fit charging into somebody’s daily routine.”

The “C” in C50 stands for “compact,” reflecting its smaller footprint suited for high-density parking areas and its “aesthetically pleasing” form that integrates well into retail settings, says Hastings. The chargers also include an NACS connector.

From a functional standpoint, Hastings says the C50’s 50–kW output is ideal for retail locations where users typically spend about an hour shopping. In that time, most vehicles can gain roughly 250 kilometres of range. “That’s enough for a week’s worth of driving for most people,” he adds.

Ensuring charger reliability

Active since 2024, the Orleans site reflects Ivy’s broader reinvestment plan to keep its network safe and dependable. “When we have customer feedback about a specific property or site, we’re committed to reinvesting [there] to bring that charging experience up to where customers want it to be,” says Obhrai. “We’ve done it at a couple of other sites this year and we will continue doing so.”

The chargers have been open to the public for nearly a month, with positive feedback so far. “Specifically choosing a trusted partner and trusted technology and listening to feedback is how I think we get to that place where customers are getting a reliable charging experience,” adds Obhrai.

For ABB, charger performance and reliability depend on strong asset management.

“You can design the world’s best charging systems, but that alone isn’t enough,” says Hasting. “You have to operate these chargers as managed assets — very similar to a telecom network — because these are complex power electronics sitting out there in the wild, exposed to the elements, and subject to human interaction.”

ABB builds redundancy into its infrastructure and provides round-the-clock monitoring.

“We treat these assets in the field with remote support — 24/7, 365 days a year — constantly monitoring, looking for problems before they become problems,” Hastings explains. “When human intervention is required, being able to very quickly dispatch an intervention to ensure that that charger gets back up online as quickly as possible.”

Looking ahead, both ABB and Ivy see the C50 playing a central role in the future of retail charging in Canada.

“My vision for the C50 is for it to be ubiquitous in retail environments across all provinces,” says Hastings.