Grocery Chain in Canada Getting EV Chargers at 130+ Stores – CleanTechnica

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There’s a ton of incremental progress in the electric vehicle and EV charging arena. One more EV charger here, two more there, another over there, three in the corner there. It all adds up. But then there are big announcements, and it’s hard to not get excited about those. One of those is an announcement out of Canada that the grocery chain METRO is planning to add EV charging stations at more than 130 of its stores in Quebec and Ontario.

Good news for fellow Canadian company FLO, it is going to be providing all of those! Talk about Christmas in July.

But how long will this EV charging rollout take? At least 500 charging ports are supposed to be installed in August alone! The stores will be getting the new dual port FLO Ultra fast charger, which provides up to 320 kW and can get most new EVs from 10% to 80% in about 15 minutes. When you put two of these FLO Ultra fast chargers together, the max power is raised to 500 kW. “FLO’s Ultra fast charger is capable of up to 500kW when paired with a second FLO Ultra charger. Its flexible and modular design and extended cable length facilitates charging on one or on both sides, creating ease of use for all types of makes and models.”

Interestingly, METRO specifically called out the climate crisis as the reason for this sharp, strong move. “METRO is committed to adopting short-term, science-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets for its direct and indirect emissions,” said Michel Avigliano, Vice President, Real Estate and Engineering, METRO. “Through this partnership, we are taking action to reduce our indirect emissions linked to the transport of our customers, while contributing to the collective effort of transition towards a more low-carbon economy.” 

Naturally, FLO is very happy with the deal. “This partnership is about integrating the best EV charging experience into daily life and making it as routine as grocery shopping,” said Louis Tremblay, FLO President and CEO. Indeed. That is what it’s all about — adding destination chargers that are particularly helpful and needed by people who don’t have home EV charging or at least workplace charging. “Making public charging options widely available is key for Canada to achieve its environmental goals and transition to an emission-free transportation sector. By establishing fast charging stations at more than 130 grocery stores across Quebec and Ontario, we’re laying the groundwork to accelerate the transition,” Tremblay adds.

There’s one more big partner to highlight here: Canada Infrastructure Bank. It’s partly Canada Infrastructure Bank that has enabled this big and fast deployment from FLO. “A significant number of these new installations are supported by  FLO’s partnership with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), which committed C$235 million to FLO bringing more than 1,900 public fast charging ports online across Canada by 2027,” FLO writes.

“The CIB is investing in critical EV infrastructure which meets drivers’ needs for the future, in communities big and small, across the country. Grocery stores are essential for our daily necessities and thriving communities. By combining high speed charging options for EV drivers in the places they frequent the most, we are moving closer to ending EV owners’ range anxiety,” adds Ehren Cory, CEO, Canada Infrastructure Bank. So, it seems CIB is focused on getting more EV infrastructure built around the country in general.