Canada to double FLO charging network by 2027

In Canada, the public fast-charging network for electric cars is to be doubled in the next four years. The charging network operator FLO has received a loan commitment from the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to build more than 2,000 new fast charging points at around 400 locations by 2027.

The loan amounts to 220 million Canadian dollars, the equivalent of about $161.4 million. The funds come from the CIB’s Charging and Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure (CHRI) initiative, which focuses on the development of large-scale charging infrastructure by the private sector. This means that almost half of the CHRI’s total budget of 500 million CAD will be invested in FLO’s project.

The expansion of the network will mainly use the new 320 kW FLO Ultra charging station, which will be produced at the plant in Auburn Hills in the US state of Michigan.

The sites will be “along qualified transport corridors and in urban and suburban communities with more than 20,000 inhabitants,” and FLO says it will work with site operators to set up the charging stations. In the process, FLO will assume responsibility for planning, installation and operation, while the site owners will primarily contribute their land.

“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.

Built in Michigan, the FLO Ultra is not only intended for use in Canada, it is also scheduled to enter the US market in 2024. As it meets the requirements of the NEVI as well as the Buy America Act, the DC column can also be installed in publicly funded infrastructure projects in the USA.

newswire.ca (CIB funding), prnewswire.com (Auburn Hills factory)