An Enel-X EV charger being used by a customer. (Courtesy Enel-X)

Global smart charging company Enel X is partnering with one of Canada’s largest multiresidential owners, Killam Apartment REIT, to provide 438 electric vehicle (EV) chargers to over 50 of its properties.

All the EV chargers should be delivered by the end of the summer of 2022.

Natural Resources Canada’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program provided $730,000 in funding for the initiative, which was also assisted by Catalyst Sales and Marketing.

“These kind of incentives are very helpful to mobilize resources and accelerate the creation of the EV charging infrastructure so that the adoption can follow, said Giovanni Bertolino, the head of e-mobility at Enel X North America. “I think tapping the multi-unit dwellings segment is critically important to reach underserved segments at the moment for integration.”

Enel X, which is based in Italy, will provide Killam with JuiceBox smart charging stations and the JuiceNet IoT platform. The chargers have 240-volt charging capabilities and can be connected to a user’s smartphone app, Google Home or Amazon Alexa. Since over 80 per cent of EV charging happens at home, and about one-third of Canadians live in multifamily homes, Bertolino hopes deals like this with large apartment providers such as Killam REIT will encourage faster adoption of EVs.

In February, Nova Scotia became the fourth Canadian province to launch an EV rebate program. Nova Scotia is also home to 33 per cent of the Killam Apartment REIT properties.

To date, over 125,000 Canadians and Canadian businesses have taken advantage of federal incentives to purchase a zero-emission vehicle.

The future of EV in Canada

Bertolino doesn’t rule out an expansion of the relationship with Killam as Enel X pursues more opportunities for electrification in North America.

“We were in ongoing conversations with Killam and also with other real estate developers in Canada and the United States to continue supporting these opportunities,” Bertolino said. “We wanted to reinforce the visibility to the fact that we’re growing our presence in Canada. We see Canada as an extremely interesting market, the political support for electrification is there.”

Since 2015, the Canadian government has invested $1 billion to make EVs more affordable and accessible. The investments are creating a coast-to-coast network of fast chargers, and provide rebates of up to $5,000 to help more Canadians buy EVs.

The programs support Canada’s mandate that all passenger vehicles sold in the country are zero emission by 2035.

With this deal and expanding support for electrification, Bertolino sees potential for tremendous growth in 2022 and beyond, with plans for a presence in all forms of EV charging: the home, the workplace, and in public.

“In 2021, we’ve seen incredible growth in demand for EVs, and of course, recharging. The market has been growing tremendously, supported also by the introduction of more choice for consumers in terms of EVs,” Bertolino said. “We’ve seen very experienced demand, outpacing our ability to supply because of the supply chain challenges, which has been a great problem to have.”

Enel X’s growth

Earlier this year Enel, the parent group of Enel X, shortened its corporate timeframe for achieving net-zero direct and indirect emissions, from 2050 to 2040. Bertolino also said Enel X is fully electrifying its own vehicle fleet.

Recently, Enel X was ranked as a leader in Guidehouse‘s Q4 2021 leaderboard report on EV charging companies, alongside the California-based ChargePoint Inc.

“Enel X has one of the largest footprints globally and throughout the value chain. The company also leads in vehicle grid integration (VGI), positioning it to tap new networking services as EV charging becomes more accessible and powerful in the evolving EV market,” the report reads.

Enel X has about 4,500 business customers, spanning more than 35,000 sites and representing approximately $10.5 billion in energy spend under management. Enel X North America has approximately 4.7 GW of demand response capacity, over 70 battery storage projects that are operational and under contract, and more than 70,000 smart EV charging stations.

Killam Apartment REIT owns, operates and develops a $4.4 billion portfolio of apartments and manufactured home communities.