Electric vehicle (EV) charger company Jolt is making its entry into Canada with plans to install up to 5,000 chargers by 2043, backed by a freemium model which offers complimentary charging with ads.

Originating from Australia, Jolt has a total of 176 chargers in its home country, New Zealand, the U.K. and Canada. Two chargers currently being installed in Richmond Hill, Ont. at 9555 Yonge St. will be its first Canadian outlets.

Jolt has partnered with Canadian telecom Telus to offer EV charging terminals that resemble street billboards, featuring Wi-Fi-enabled screens displaying advertisements. EV drivers can access up to seven kilowatts of charge per day – around 40 to 50 kilometres of range – for free as a result.

“As the EV market continues to grow and scale in Canada, there is really a need for comprehensive networks that are accessible, fast, affordable and reliable,” Brendan Dillon, Jolt’s Canada country manager, told Sustainable Biz Canada in an interview.

Such a model will help boost EV adoption, he added.

Jolt’s entry into Canada

Jolt decided to expand into Canada because of the federal government’s “very ambitious” and “aggressive” goal to install over 200,000 EV chargers by 2030, Dillon explained.

Canada is “an easy target to come in and try to rapidly expand this product. There is definitely market fit and there is obviously the need from the EV driver and public infrastructure side.”

Jolt's partnership with Telus, forged in 2023, is planning to deliver up to 5,000 EV chargers over the next 20 years. Telus will provide the internet connections and energy for Jolt’s chargers, which are Level 3 DC fast chargers ranging from 25 kilowatts per hour to 50 kilowatts per hour. The company assembles its own chargers in Atlanta, Dillon said.

The targets for expansion during the next two years are the dense metros of Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal, and Jolt has already secured project pipelines in the cities. A priority for placement is high-traffic areas such as urban cores around strip malls or at curbside in retail areas.

Once installations in the larger markets have been completed, Jolt plans to move on to second and tertiary markets, Dillon said.

Landowners will benefit from the Jolt offering, Justin Dempsey, Jolt’s vice-president of real estate in eastern Canada, said in an interview. As charging will take some time, drivers can walk around a retail area to shop or browse. Jolt also pays a rental fee or offers a revenue-sharing agreement with landowners, and local businesses can advertise on Jolt’s chargers.

Jolt’s unique freemium model

Setting Jolt apart is an ad-based freemium model, rather than a more typical pay-per-charge format. The company’s app also showcases tailored ads for the user. The promotions help pay for the free charging, Dillon said, which is the “best path forward” for the company.

The choice to offer free charging is made to encourage EV adoption, Dillon explained. The biggest barriers are cost, range anxiety and lack of public infrastructure, according to Jolt's research. While the company cannot reduce the cost of an EV, it can tackle accessibility and the price of charging.

Once the free charge period is up, the user can access Jolt’s app for more. The charging fee is typically lower than its peers ($0.35 per kilowatt-hour), Dillon said, because the company is backed by ads.

“We don’t need to rely solely on selling electrons. We do have that buffer in place to be able to be more flexible and competitive in terms of our pricing strategy.”

Jolt committed to using renewable energy

Jolt says it is 100 per cent powered by renewable energy, but Dillon said the carbon intensity of the electricity that powers its chargers will depend on the province. Ontario and Quebec have low-carbon grids, while Alberta’s is still reliant on fossil fuels.

If the grid is not clean enough, Jolt will offset with green certificates purchased from utilities like Bullfrog Power. Dempsey said Jolt will pay to return an equivalent amount of clean electricity to the grid as its chargers are using.

Jolt has its sights on expanding to the U.S. and other markets as well, Dillon said. He believes the freemium model will continue to be a success, and will be applicable anywhere.

“We know the model works in Australia, we know it works in the U.K., we know it works in New Zealand, very confident it’s going to work in Canada.”