Stellantis’ COO Mark Stewart speaking at the company’s May announcement of $3.6 billion in funding for Windsor and Brampton plants. (Screenshot via livestream)

Stellantis N.V. plans to retool its Windsor, Ont. plant to build an EV capable of going 804 kms on a single charge. Additionally, the automaker — owner of 16 brands including Chrysler, Fiat, Dodge and Jeep — stated its Brampton plant will build a yet-to-be-announced vehicle.

The Windsor plant will stop building the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger in 2024.

The latest details come after Stellantis’ (STLA-N) announced a $3.6-billion investment in these plants in May, along with the expansion of its Automotive Research and Development Centre in Windsor.

Stellantis, headquartered in the Netherlands, is aiming for net-zero carbon emissions by 2038, with a 50 per cent reduction by 2030.

The investment is part of the company’s plan to offer more than 25 battery-electric vehicles in the North American market. One of the company’s initial goals is to have “more than 53 per cent of our sales targeted for EVs by 2030.”

Lion Electric teams with Parc Safari to electrify tour

Parc Safari, a zoo in Hemmingford, Que., has teamed with all-electric medium and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer The Lion Electric Company (LEV-T) to electrify seven of its safari tour trucks this year.

The bush trucks will be mounted on a Lion8 chassis for the five-km tour. All trucks will have a capacity of 50 passengers, along with wheelchair accessibility. According to a release, Parc Safari first considered replacing its gas vehicles with electric in 2010.

“What we’re presenting today is a testament to the versatility of the 100-per-cent electric Lion vehicles that our team has been developing for more than a decade here in Quebec, and once again, showing just how adaptable our electric trucks are in a wide range of applications,” said Marc Bédard, Lion Electric’s CEO and founder in a prepared statement.

Pre-pandemic, the zoo had about 300,000 visitors each year.

Markham, Langford get new EV charging stations

Forty-two new EV chargers are being installed in two Canadian cities as part of a nation-wide program to expand access to charging stations.

The City of Markham, Ont. has installed 22 new Level 2 EV charging stations in partnership with Woodbridge, Ont.-based Alectra Energy Services Inc. and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).

The city aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

In Langford, B.C., the federal government invested $49,000 in DB Land Acquisitions Inc. to install 20 Level 2 chargers. DB Land is also making a $50,968 contribution. The chargers will be available sometime this summer.

Both cities’ chargers were funded via the Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP).

Canada has a goal of adding 50,000 zero-emission vehicle chargers to its network. The 2022 federal budget also provides $400 million to NRCan to extend the ZEVIP to March 2027, complemented by $500 million that Canada’s Infrastructure Bank will invest in large-scale ZEV charging and refuelling infrastructure.

Bird continues as a preferred operator in Edmonton

Bird Canada Inc., the Canadian counterpart to Bird Global Inc., will have a fourth consecutive year as the preferred operator of electric bikes and scooters in Edmonton.

Bird Canada will have 200 e-bikes and 750 e-scooters available throughout the city. This is the first year e-scooters will be available along with the bikes.

They’ll be for rent under a variety of plans via an app. A free helmet can also be requested.

According to its website, the global operations for e-scooters achieved carbon neutrality in 2020.

Founded in Miami in 2017, Bird Global (BRDS-N) operates in over 350 cities and universities in Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East. Bird Canada services other Alberta cities including Calgary, Okotoks, St. Albert, Leduc and Red Deer, as well as Windsor, Ont.

GreenPower to acquire Virginia facility

GreenPower Motor Company Inc. is acquiring a facility in South Charleston, W.Va., where it will take ownership in August and begin production in September.

“The facility will be instrumental in ramping-up production of our all-electric school buses, the BEAST and Nano BEAST, in time to meet the demand created by EPA’s Clean School Bus Program and state legislative mandates,” said Fraser Atkinson, GreenPower’s CEO and chairman, in a statement.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice had previously announced plans in January for GreenPower to produce zero-emission, all-electric vehicles in the state.

Although headquartered in Vancouver, GreenPower (GPV-X) has primary facilities in Porterville, Calif.

GreenPower’s buses are eligible for U.S. EPA sustainability rebates. The Type D BEAST is eligible for up to $375,000 in rebates, and up to $285,000 for the Type A Nano BEAST. The EPA is also providing funding of up to $20,000 per bus for charging infrastructure for Level 2 charging systems.

The BEAST is a 40-foot, 90-passenger, Type-D school bus. The Nano BEAST is a 25-foot Type-A school bus available with standard or accessible seating. Both have a range of 150 miles and can charge up to 20 KW on a DC fast charge.

Loop Energy enters Australian market

Hydrogen fuel cell solution designer and manufacturer Loop Energy Inc. will enter the Australian bus market, supplying fuel cell modules to Aluminium Revolutionary Chassis Company (ARCC). The Australian manufacturer is responsible for the country’s first lightweight bolted aluminum city bus chassis.

Loop’s T600 fuel cell module — at 60 kW — will be integrated into ARCC’s 12.5-metre Viking Hydrolight city bus model, which aims to be in service by 2023.

“The electric bus market is quickly emerging as an important market segment for fuel cells. We are very proud that we have continued to grow our footprint in this sector in Europe, China, Asia and now in Australia,” said Loop Energy’s CCO George Rubin in a statement.

Vancouver-based Loop and ARCC aim to unveil the first fuel cell bus at the Australia Bus & Coach Expo in October.

Nano One, BASF sign joint development agreement

Nano One Materials Corp. and German chemical company BASF SE have signed an agreement to co-develop a process with reduced by-products for commercial production of next-generation cathode materials.

It will be based on BASF’s (BASFY) high-energy-density cathode materials and Vancouver-based Nano’s patented one-pot process.

Nano’s (NANO-T) one-pot process puts the materials needed to produce cathodes, including lithium, iron, phosphorus and carbon, into a single reactor. They are then placed into an industrial dryer and finally, fired in a kiln to create the cathode material.

In May, Nano One CEO Dan Blondal told SustainableBiz he believes the company offers “one of the keys to unlocking lithium iron phosphate battery production in North America” at a much larger scale.

The process results in four to five times less weight being transported across land and sea by skipping a traditional crystallization process. It also uses about five per cent of the water required by the other process.

“BASF is a global leader in chemistry and high-performance lithium-ion battery cathode materials, and we are proud to be forging new ground with them to improve performance, cost and environmental footprint for CAM production,” Blondal said in a statement.