Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Ottawa-Gatineau

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Virplex

Given that all the other City owned chargers are Level 2, I believe (including the ones scheduled to be installed at the Lois Kemp Arena this year), it wouldn't take much for these to be the "fastest" ones owned by the city.

Are these Electric Circuit like the other ones roger1818 listed?

Originally Posted by CanadaGoose

They aren’t silly locations.

The locations are fine. I think the concern is that the context lends itself to having those chargers occupied all the time by people who aren't charging because they are busy inside. Locations like this should probably have a mix of 1-2 fast chargers and several Level 2 outlets.

It 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 when they do these projects, spend $50k on a single charger and don't spend say $10-20k more on a handful of Level 2s.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by CanadaGoose

They aren’t silly locations.

Terry Fox is beside the 417 and is perfect for those in Perth, and beyond.

Your point about it being close to the 417 is well noted (though it is an awkward location to get to), but I still stand by it being a poor location. There are no facilities nearby where you could use the washroom or get a drink/snack (it is a park & ride, they don't expect or want people to be loitering). The fact that they found the worst possible location within the Park & Ride (the south/middle edge) doesn't help either. It is as if they wanted to hide it away in a corner instead of showcasing it (they even planted trees to hide them).

The closest restaurant is Boston Pizza (hardly a good place for a quick snack) and the closest fast food restaurant is Harvey's (see map below). Had they put the DCFC in the north-west corner, it would have been better, though still not great. The Level 2 chargers should be along the grassy area on the north, central part of the lot, to make them more visible.



In reality, the DCFC at Scotiabank is in a much better location, being directly adjacent to a Starbucks and the Canadian Tire Gas Bar store. It is also much easier to get to from the highway. To bad it is operated by what is likely the most unreliable charging network, and it is limited to only 30kW. This would be a great candidate for one of the FreeWire Boost Chargers™ I had previously mentioned.

Even better are the Ivy Chargers in Carleton Place. They are directly adjacent to a Tim Hortons, McDonalds and Pizza Pizza. Admittedly, being just under 30km further west, they may not be located where some people need to charge.

Originally Posted by CanadaGoose

Fallowfield serves people coming from the 416.

You do realize that the Fallowfield charging station is over 6 km from the Fallowfield 416 exit. That is a significant detour. It also suffers from the lack of nearby amenities and poor placement within the park & ride. Also, there is only 1 DCFC, so there is no redundancy if it is in use, or worse yet, out of order.

Originally Posted by CanadaGoose

Chinatown serves Uhm Uhm… people who don’t have a Tesla.

Dalhousie served as the place… people go to when the Chinatown charger is being used.

Maybe that was true when they were built, but now that Electrify Canada has opened their Ottawa location, that is no longer the case as the price for charging will end up being similar and you don't need to pay for parking. They also have 4 chargers at one location (instead of the 1 charger per location in the city lots) so there is plenty of redundancy (though only 1 has CHAdeMO). Granted it has a similar lack of nearby amenities, though there is a Starbucks about 250m away.

I would definitely like to see these two, city owned DCFCs changed into multiple Level 2 charging stations. When people park in pay parking lots, they are likely there for multiple hours, not 15-20 minutes.

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

It 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 when they do these projects, spend $50k on a single charger and don't spend say $10-20k more on a handful of Level 2s.

These projects are very much about looking good to a public that knows nothing about EV charging, instead of about actually providing the infrastructure that is actually required. It also doesn't help that the politicians who are making the final decisions likely don't really know what is needed.

The city should focus more on providing more Level 2 charging (like the Envari on-street EV charging) and less about splashy, expensive, singleton DCFC stations.

[Truenorth00]

There seems to be no plan here
Nothing federally. Nothing provincially or municipally either. They just want to build a handful of chargers for the photo op. At least networks like Ivy, Electrify Canada, Electric Circuit, Envari, etc actually have a strategy. Wish the government would just give them money to accelerate their plans.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

There seems to be no plan here

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Nothing federally.

They had a plan to build a coast to coast network. Now that it has been built, there doesn't seem to be a follow-up plan, but instead they are just accepting applications for funding. While I agree they could do more planning, highways are a provincial responsibility, so it needs to be a co-ordinated effort.

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Nothing provincially

There was one, but it went out the window when Ford got in. His government also got rid of all funding and reversed legislation that required enhanced infrastructure for EVs.

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

or municipally either. They just want to build a handful of chargers for the photo op.

It is a bit hit and miss really. You are right and they need to develop a plan instead of flying by the seat of their pants and doing things for just for the photo ops.

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

At least networks like Ivy, Electrify Canada, Electric Circuit, Envari, etc actually have a strategy. Wish the government would just give them money to accelerate their plans.

Certainly Ivy and Electrify Canada have a plan, though the former is focused more on the public good and the later is focused on future profitability.

As for Electric Circuit, I am not so sure. Outside of Quebec, they seem to be more of a contractor who will build and operate whatever you want if you give them money (it might be a bit different inside Quebec though).

Envari seems to be more of a consultant that will help you through the regulatory framework and give you independent advice. I am not so sure that they have an overall plan, but they might be in a good position to develop one for the city.

[roger1818]

Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla will be opening their Supercharger network to non-Tesla's later this year. This will be easy in Europe and China, where Teslas are required to use the same charging connector as other EVs, but here in North America, Tesla will apparently sell and adaptor that non-Tesla owners can buy. The adapter will apparently also be available at Supercharger stations.

To pay, non-Tesla owners will have to use the Tesla app and apparently at peak times, Tesla will charge extra for vehicles that can't charge as fast as Teslas can since time is a bigger issue than electricity.

This video provides a good summary of this as the details came out in dribs and drabs over the past week. It is certainly interesting news, but I will remain skeptical until I see it happen, as Tesla is known to change its mind on things.

• Video Link

[Truenorth00]

Having to buy an adapter probably rules out a ton of people. I think it's a gimmick by Tesla. They don't want to get locked of government funding in many places, for building chargers. And in some places they face regulatory mandates to open up their networks. So they are owning it.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Having to buy an adapter probably rules out a ton of people. I think it's a gimmick by Tesla. They don't want to get locked of government funding in many places, for building chargers. And in some places they face regulatory mandates to open up their networks. So they are owning it.

The adaptors going the other way (non-Tesla to Tesla) are not very expensive in the grand scheme of things so I expect the Tesla to non-Tesla will be similarly priced (with the Tesla premium of course). But I don't see it as a barrier for anyone who can afford an EV currently. Anything that potentially expands our charging network and station options is a good thing IMO.

[CanadaGoose]

If they do open it to the public, I am sure eventually, they will update new superchargers with CCS1 plugs (and eventually remove the need for the adapter).

Please note: it's 480V architecture, not 800v. So, it may still be faster for some cars to use Electrify Canada chargers.

Regarding Ottawa, Tesla superchargers are quite busy already.

----
The whole plan will start making sense soon:
- new factory in China that is projected to produce 10000 V3 charging stalls each year (recently opened)
- resources free up in the world of construction (and covid supply chain delays disappear)
- potential of it becoming a new business line or a source of revenue.
- tons of experience building superchargers and already a great breath of knowledge on contractors, sub-contractors, hurdles and barriers.

Maybe in 2023 and beyond, Tesla superchargers will be the new ChargePoint or Electrify Dieselgate or EVGo, who knows?

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Having to buy an adapter probably rules out a ton of people.

They say that the adaptors will also be available at the Supercharger stations, but as Nikki said in the video, many will choose to buy their own to not have to rely on the one at the station being available and operational.

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I think it's a gimmick by Tesla. They don't want to get locked of government funding in many places, for building chargers. And in some places they face regulatory mandates to open up their networks. So they are owning it.

I certainly am skeptical of Tesla's motives on this. There has been pressure in Norway and Germany for Tesla to open up their Superchargers, and it might be that they didn't want to come across as giving them special treatment. As I said, we will have to see the exact details once they are released. I suspect they won't be price competitive with the other networks (especially for slower charging vehicles), but there may still be a market for it.

One thing that will be interesting to see is how fast vehicles that can charge 800V will charge at a Supercharger, which can only deliver 400V.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by CanadaGoose

If they do open it to the public, I am sure eventually, they will update new superchargers with CCS1 plugs (and eventually remove the need for the adapter).

That is certainly possible. I gather in Europe they have dual head Superchargers to support the older Model S and X vehicles which don't have CCS connectors. It really depends how much they want to encourage/discourage non-Teslas to use the Superchargers.

On a related note, I could see Tesla splitting its Supercharger network into a separate company one day and maybe even selling it. Supporting non-Teslas would improve its value.

[roger1818]

I saw an video about an interesting EV charger in Europe that would be an interesting option for apartments if they made a North American version. Initially you would install and wire a base with blanking plate at each parking spot. If the tenant wants an EV charger, you just remove the blanking plate, snap in what they call a robot (which has all the charging circuitry) and cover, and provision the robot using a smartphone app.

The system allows up to 101 charging points on a 3-phase circuit (though you might not want quite that many in reality). It does a combination of load sharing and queuing to ensure the circuit doesn't overload. It is designed for the European type 2 connector which allows for 3 phase charging, but a type 1 (or J1772) robot could be developed that would then choose which of the 3 phases to use, based on loading (it may already do that as not all European EVs can charge with 3 phases, even if they have a type 2 connector).

This would be an extremely flexible solution. A 100A (80A continuous) 3-phase 208V circuit, can provide almost 50kW, so in 8 hours (from 11pm to 7am), it can provide 399 kWh of power. If you consider that the average vehicle probably only needs 5 or 6 kWh of electricity per day, it could easily fully charge between 65 and 80 vehicles overnight (even more if some plug in earlier in the evening), but yet the system would be flexible enough to balance the power distribution evenly.

It is an untethered charge point, meaning it doesn't include the cable (common in Europe as most vehicles come with a cable in addition to an EVSE), but they could include a cable with the robot or make a tethered version.

• Video Link

[CanadaGoose]

Is EV Chargers even a mention in the urban offical plan?

[Tesladom]

400v is more than enough (up to 250kw on Tesla), even the 800v Taycan can charge at 150kw using 400v when equipped with the option
... then there's Lucid Wunderbox which will open a lot of different voltage combination opportunities!

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by roger1818

I was listening to the Fully Charged Plus Podcast the other day (episode 105 at 24:18), and one of the things they brought up was a new DC Fast Charger by FreeWire in the USA called the Boost Charger which has integrated batteries. This allows the charger to have a much smaller grid connection (≤ 27 kW) but still provide 120 kW CCS or 100 kW CHAdeMO. The other interesting feature is that, unlike most DC Fast Chargers, both cables can be used simultaneously (though the charging rate is then shared at 60kW each). The reduced shared rate isn't as big a deal as it seems, since many BEVs charging curve will drop below 120 kW at a higher state of charge. The data sheet can be found here.

This charger is very useful for small installations (coffee shops, restaurants, etc.) where they have some reserve capacity on their existing grid connection and thus may not need to pay for a new separate grid connection.

Also, an existing 50kW charger could be upgraded to two 120kW chargers that could charge up to four vehicles simultaneously, instead of just one, without any changes to the grid connection. This could also be done with external batteries, but an integrated solution has advantages.

The latest episode of the EV Revolution Show Podcast (episode 27) had an interview with Arcady Sosinov, Founder & CEO FreeWire Technologies. Certainly an interesting listen. Hey says that while the chargers themselves are more expensive, the installation is much faster and cheaper. They also offer significant operational savings in electricity costs.

[CanadaGoose]

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/a-dozen-electr...plete-by-end-of-september-city-1.5547082

Charger addresses (approximate and subject to change)

245 Crichton St.
186 Main St.
283 Cyr Ave.
9 Oak St.
170 Primrose Ave.
121 Daly Ave.
113 Cartier St.
943 Wellington St. W
Hurdman Station Place (North of 1510 Riverside Dr.)
300 Laurier Ave. E
193 Wellington St. W
100 Beechwood Ave.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by CanadaGoose

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/a-dozen-electr...plete-by-end-of-september-city-1.5547082

Charger addresses (approximate and subject to change)

245 Crichton St.
186 Main St.
283 Cyr Ave.
9 Oak St.
170 Primrose Ave.
121 Daly Ave.
113 Cartier St.
943 Wellington St. W
Hurdman Station Place (North of 1510 Riverside Dr.)
300 Laurier Ave. E
193 Wellington St. W
100 Beechwood Ave.

This is exactly what the city should be focusing on for installing EV charging. Let the charging networks focus on the DCFC stations.

[CanadaGoose]

Pretty dramatic!

885 million. Extends to electric buses, new ev charging spots, electric hybrid bikeshare bikes (i wish we had those, instead of lime), changing fleet vehicles to electric, etc.


ENVIRONMENT
Montreal mayor unveils $885M plan to electrify transportation

https://globalnews.ca/news/8117280/montreal-mayor-plan-electrify-transportation/

[roger1818]

ONroute, Ontario’s largest highway service centre operator, is still a no-show when it comes to EV charging
5 minute read

Published on
09 November 2021
AUTHOR
Mehanaz Yakub

First promised five years ago, EV chargers remain notably absent at all 23 ONroute Service Centre locations on Ontario’s 401 and 400 highways, where the fuel and food provider has the exclusive right to operate

At the start of this September’s school year, like many parents of university-bound students, Tim Short drove not one but two of his sons to university.

With one going off to the University of Western Ontario in London, and the other to Queen’s University in Kingston, the journey along Ontario’s 401 Highway covered several hundred kilometres. Short knew the 444 km trip between the two schools would be punctuated with the usual bathroom and refreshment breaks, plus charging stops for the family vehicle: a Tesla.

But spotting one of the 19 ONroute Service Centres located along the highway 401 corridor between his sons’ schools (ONroute has 23 locations in total, including Highway 400 stops), Short told Electric Autonomy Canada in an interview that rather than feeling a sense of relief at a one-stop-shop breakpoint in the journey, he was reminded of his ongoing disappointment with the plaza operator.

Chargers promised

Short remembers seeing signs up roughly five years ago notifying customers that future EV charging stations would be arriving at ONroute locations.

At the time, Short didn’t own a battery-electric car and instead drove a hybrid. But he says he was interested in getting an EV and was looking forward to charging up conveniently at the service centres during long road trips.

But despite the five years between ONroute’s public pledge and Short’s university drop-off run, there are still no EV chargers at any ONroute stops.

“This has frustrated me for a number of years,” says Short. “Not even those signs are there now— they’re gone. There’s absolutely nothing, nothing could be found at all.”

Electric Autonomy reached out to ONroute and received an email statement from spokesperson Diana MacLeod saying: The company is “actively pursuing opportunities to support EV charging at our plazas along Highways 400 and 401. However, at this time we are not in a position to comment on any details. We are hopeful to have a plan in place for 2022 and beyond.”

ONroute got new owners in May 2019, when it was bought by UK-based Arjun Infrastructure Partners and Toronto-based Fengate Asset Management. That and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 could explain the lack of progress. But for drivers like Short, the reality is that those promised ONroute chargers aren’t already in place and the further delay into next year is not reassuring.

“There is literally nothing at the 401 ONroute service centers and that’s absolutely crazy to me,” says Short. “…For all intents and purposes, why can’t all EV drivers of today of all brands have the same level of convenient service that ONroute is famous for?”

Exclusive right to operate

ONroutes service centres began operating in 2010 when the government of Ontario gave the company — whose owners at the time were Toronto-based Kilmer van Nostrand and HMSHost Corp., an American subsidiary of Autogrill — the exclusive right to operate commercial service centres along the 401 and the southern part of the 400 highways.

Each year, around 40 million people stop at an ONroute to refuel on gas, food and drinks. What makes these locations popular is that they are strategically located alongside the highway every 80 km to 100 km so commuters don’t need to leave the corridor for a rest stop.

But surveys that show range anxiety, especially during long-distance travelling, remains one of the major barriers to large-scale adoption of EVs today. In a Canadian study published earlier this year by KPMG, for example, half of the respondents cited limited driving range (51 per cent) and lack of charging infrastructure (50 per cent) as two main reasons why they are opting out of buying an EV.

Chargers needed

Recently, Ontario has seen steady adoption of more public EV charging infrastructure, with the launch of the Ivy charging network in 2020 with a commitment to roll out 160 fast chargers by the end of this year and investments from the federal government.

As the number of EV sales continues to grow rapidly — Ontario saw a 210 per cent increase in zero-emission vehicles registration in the province in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year — the rollout of robust charging networks, particularly on highways, will be essential to make more of the province EV accessible.

It’s not as though ONroute’s current owners aren’t familiar with EV charging. Arjun Infrastructure’s other holdings include partial ownership of UK’s Welcome Break, a highway service area operator, similar to ONroute. Through its service provider GridServe as well as a partnership with InstaVolt , Welcome Break provides EV charging at mulitple locations.

Of note, ONroute does have a long-standing partnership with Canadian Tire to supply each of its plazas with a Canadian Tire Gas+ station for diesel-engine vehicles. Last year, Canadian Tire announced an expansion of its EV charging network at its retail locations across Canada and has hinted towards larger commitments to EV charging in the coming decade.

Cause for delay

Sun Country Highways’s founder and CEO Kent Rathwell is familiar with installing EV chargers throughout Canada. His company set up free Level 2 chargers at different hotels, businesses and municipalities near highway 401 around eight years ago.

“Did we approach ONroute? Yeah. But it just wasn’t the right timing for them,” says Rathwell in an interview with Electric Autonomy.

According to Rathwell, there can be several different reasons why companies and businesses, in general, haven’t installed any EV chargers to date — from believing that EVs are only part of a current trend with an expiration date, to resisting the realities of the climate crises, to opposing giving away free Level 2 charging to users without making any substantial profit for a business. However, in the case of ONroute service centres, Rathwell thinks what has contributed to the delays in EV charging installations is the limit of electrical capacity they hold at their location sites.

“They’re away from a lot of communities and they’re typically short of power. So it’s one of the main reasons why they haven’t installed EV charging at this time is because EV chargers obviously need electricity and if that site doesn’t have much electricity, it’s quite difficult to add charging stations,” explains Rathwell.

Market moving forward

Despite these challenges, Rathwell adds that it’s only a matter of time before solutions are found to fix these problems and by that point companies, such as ONroute, will have to figure out how to provide EV charging service to customers sooner than later.

“When people stop they want to charge their car…when they’re eating, when they’re going to the washroom…that’s the perfect time to charge their vehicles because it doesn’t waste their time… So, the less we have to go and drive out of our way to fill up our vehicle the better,” says Rathwell.

“With or without ONroutes, we’re still moving forward in the EV space… But it would be a smart move for them to try to tie into it because otherwise, their business will be going elsewhere.”

https://electricautonomy.ca/2021/11/09/onroute-ev-chargers/

[Truenorth00]

I've been complaining about the OnRoutes for a long time. Good to see I'm not the only one.

I think they need a three-way deal with Ivy Charging (on behalf of OPG and Hydro One), Arjun Infrastructure and Canadian Tire, so that Canadian Tire doesn't feel threatened by the loss of revenue, silly as the idea is. The rumoured rents that OnRoute was asking from Tesla were also pretty ridiculous. Apparently, $20k per year. There's no way to recover that from charging.

[roger1818]

Ivy Charging Network™ builds its 27th fast-charger location and launches level 2 chargers in partnership with municipalities
August 4, 2021
-Ivy is growing one of Ontario’s largest, most connected electric vehicle charging networks-


Map of Ivy Charging Network Charge & Go and Park & Charge locations currently open and underway.

TORONTO, Aug. 4, 2021 – Today, Ivy Charging Network announced the growth of its electric vehicle (EV) fast-charger network across Ontario celebrating the construction of its 27th location, with 12 additional locations underway. The company also announced it will be offering level 2 chargers at select locations through partnerships with municipalities and businesses that offers turn-key solutions to support their transition to a cleaner future.

• Ivy Charge & Go level 3 fast-chargers offers charging on-the-go that allows drivers up to 100 km worth of charge in 20 minutes or less
• Ivy Park & Charge level 2 charging with municipalities and businesses offers destination based charging for drivers not in a rush

As Ivy continues to grow and offer consumers new charging solutions, it has rebranded its fast-charger network as Ivy Charge & Go. Through Charge & Go, EV drivers can travel to more rural and remote areas free of range anxiety by using the company’s level 3 fast-chargers. The company has completed the northwestern portion of its network, and anticipates most of its Charge & Go locations will be in-service by the end of 2021. Once built, Ivy will have one of the largest and most connected public fast-charger networks in Ontario with more than 60 locations.

The company’s new level 2 charging network Park & Charge, provides municipalities and businesses the opportunity to bring level 2 charging to their communities backed by Ivy’s reliable EV network and customer service. To-date, the company has partnered with the Towns of Halton Hills, Aurora, Port Hope, Carleton Place, the City of Orillia, Municipality of Newmarket and the County of Haliburton along with the Township of Algonquin Highlands, the Municipality of Dysart et al, the Municipality of Highlands East and the Township of Minden Hills as part of its Park & Charge network and anticipates these locations will be open over the course of the next six months.

Ivy Charging Network is a joint venture between two of North America’s largest clean energy leaders, Hydro One Limited (Hydro One) and Ontario Power Generation (OPG), and a reflection of the companies’ commitments to electrification and enabling a net-zero future here in Ontario.

Natural Resources Canada, through its Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative, provided repayable contributions to Hydro One and OPG to help build the EV network.

Quotes:

“As the largest transmission and distribution electricity company in Ontario delivering some of the cleanest energy in North America, Hydro One is in a unique position to enable electrification and support the transition to a low-carbon economy. Through Ivy, we’re building Ontario’s largest and most connected fast-charger network while developing innovative solutions to help increase the adoption of EVs and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.”

Jason Rakochy, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Growth at Hydro One, and Co-President of Ivy Charging Network

“At OPG, we are committed to powering Ontario with clean, reliable energy while innovating for the future. Ivy is one the ways we are acting as a catalyst for efficient economy wide decarbonization, as pledged in our Climate Change Plan, by encouraging adoption of EVs through the deployment of critical charging infrastructure that connects all of Ontario.”

Theresa Dekker, Vice President, Corporate Business Development & Strategy at OPG, and Co-President of Ivy Charging Network

“As Ontario is home to one of the cleanest electricity grids in the world, I’m proud to see the Ivy Charging Network grow its electric vehicle network to serve more communities and support our plan to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Honourable Todd Smith
Ontario’s Minister of Energy

“We’re giving Canadians the greener options they want to get to where they need to go. We’re building a coast-to-coast network of electric vehicle charging stations from St. John’s to Victoria. This is how we get to net-zero by 2050.”

The Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr.
Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources

More information can be found at ivycharge.com.

About Ivy Charging Network:

Ivy Charging Network is building Ontario’s largest and most connected electric vehicle network through its Charge & Go level 3 and Park & Charge level 2 network. The company opened its first Charge & Go location in 2019 and once complete, will connect Ontario from north to south and east to west. Each Charge & Go and Park & Charge location have multiple chargers all while making charging easy, reliable and seamless. Ivy Charging Network is a joint venture between Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation with additional funding provided by Natural Resources Canada.

Our website is ivycharge.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @ivycharge and LinkedIn at Ivy Charging Network.

Media can contact Ivy Charging Network Media Relations 24 hours a day at 1-877-506-7584 (toll-free in Ontario only) or 416-345-6868.

https://ivycharge.com/ev-resources/ivy-c...gers-in-partnership-with-municipalities/