Canada Invests in Newmarket Electric Bus and Charging Network

NRCan supports globally innovative business model in utility-owned and operated electric bus standardization and interoperability with high-powered charging infrastructure

NEWMARKET, ON, Aug. 14, 2019 /CNW/ - As part of the ongoing Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial, CUTRIC is proud to announce a commitment of $956,338 from NRCan to Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution Ltd. to support a globally innovative utility-owned and operated overhead charging system for transit electrification.

This is the first time in North America that a local utility is owning and operating an on-route charging system for a public transit agency.

Newmarket is the leading utility in the Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial: Phase I, which first launched at TransLink in Vancouver in April 2018 as part of a national initiative to advance zero emissions transit technology across Canada.

Spearheaded by the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), the project has brought together an innovative consortium of utilities, manufacturers, transit agencies, cities, funding partners, and research teams to expand Canada's capacity for globally innovative zero-carbon electric vehicle technologies. 

"Newmarket is a global leader in utility-led ownership and operation of high-power charging systems on behalf of a public transit agency. This has never happened in Canada or anywhere else in North America. Utilities across the continent are watching to see how Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution Ltd. has been able to achieve this impressive financial and technical feat in the transit electrification world."
—Josipa Petrunic, CEO, CUTRIC.

"Emobility is one of the most important and complex opportunities facing society today. With the right charging technology, the advantages of electrified buses can be utilized: less energy consumption in comparison to buses with combustion engines, use of renewable energy, less noise, lower particle emissions, less CO₂, lower lifecycle costs, and reliable service. As a world leader in electric bus solutions, Siemens is honoured to become a member of the Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Network spear-headed by CUTRIC and be part of Natural Resources Canada's Green Infrastructure Program. We look forward to continuing to contribute to the impressive efforts already underway in Montreal, Vancouver, Brampton and soon to be in Newmarket."
-Faisal Kazi President and CEO of Siemens Canada Ltd.

"Public transit is moving toward clean, sustainable, zero-emission mobility in the best interests of community air quality and climate change mitigation," said Jennifer McNeill, New Flyer's Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "Clean transit options require collaboration from all stakeholders, and CUTRIC has been its driving force. Together, and alongside our battery-electric buses in Toronto, Montreal, and Laval, we are driving sustainable transit innovation in Canada. Congratulations to CUTRIC and York Region Transit on this exceptional step forward."
- Jennifer McNeill, Vice President of Sales and Marketing of New Flyer

"Nova Bus is proud to be part of the CUTRIC initiative since its debut. It's a privilege to work with partners with the same objective: interchangeability, a way to ensure greater accessibility to electric mobility. Today's announcement is another step toward bringing more high quality and reliable electric buses to the streets across Canada. Our electric bus, the LFSe, uses an innovative fast charging technology, and can be charged in less than 5 minutes at the end of routes. It will now be able to operate from Newmarket's facilities."
-Ray Little, Vice President of Sales for North America of Nova Bus

"The City of Newmarket and CUTRIC's innovative initiative supports Canada's green journey towards a more sustainable future and a new era in the future of transportation, something that greatly complements ABB's commitment to power the world without consuming the earth," says Nathalie Pilon, President, ABB Canada. " We are proud to be part of this trial demonstration that will be bringing the community a zero-emission transit system that is both cleaner and more energy efficient – an achievable vision that is necessary not only for a promising tomorrow but a more sustainable today."
-Nathalie Pilon, President, ABB Canada

Starting in 2019, Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution Ltd. will be purchasing, installing, operating and maintaining a high-powered 450kW charging system on behalf of York Region Transit. The charging system is designed to the OppCharge Protocol to ensure that it is interoperable with multiple makes and models of electric buses in the future.

CUTRIC will work with the utility to collect real-time data from the charger and up to six electric buses that plug into it over the next three years as part of a Canada-wide Electric Bus Big Data Trust, which CUTRIC is developing with municipal partners for launch in 2020. The Trust will allow transit agencies and cities to log into a cloud platform and view how e-chargers and e-buses operate in any given Canadian city at any point in time. It will allow publicly-owned utilities to do the same.

CUTRIC is a member-based technology innovation consortium that partners stakeholders in industry, transit and academia to develop the next-generation of low-carbon smart mobility technologies. Its vision is to make Canada a global leader in low-carbon smart mobility technology innovation. Its mandate is to catalyze innovation in transportation, create jobs in doing so, and radically reduce emissions from transportation. 

Partner companies that are invested in this project include: 

• Siemens will supply an interoperable opportunity charging system with an inverted pantograph that connects to e-buses while the buses are operating on route and picking up passengers. The charging system is rated up to 450 kW to support the e-bus demonstration project with York Region Transit on Route 55 in Newmarket, Ontario.
• New Flyer is providing Xcelsior CHARGE battery-electric buses. For the purposes of the CUTRIC demonstration. The buses will operate with the Siemens on-route rapid charging system.
• Nova Bus, part of the Volvo Group, is providing LFSe electric buses. The buses will also operate with the Siemens on-route rapid charging system. Through its fast charging technology, the LFSe can be charged in fewer than 5 minutes at the end of route stations.
• The Siemens overhead charging solution will allow e-buses to stay in service indefinitely throughout the day by charging up in intervals of a few minutes each time the bus stops at the end point of its route.

www.cutric-crituc.org 
Twitter: @cutric_crituc 
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/cutric

SOURCE Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC)

CUTRIC Media Contact: Amanda Bishop, [email protected], 437-237-6384