Petro Canada is building 50 electric vehicle fast charging stations along the Trans-Canada Highway.
With gas emissions being a major environmental concern, a Canadian energy producer said it’s taking action.
According to the Petro Canada’s website, the fossil fuel mogul said it’s providing a greener alternative in transportation.
The new ports will offer the fastest level of charging possible. Each will provide enough amperage to charge most standard electric vehicles in 30 minutes.
Other vehicle companies such as Tesla have their own connectors and network of fast charging ports. Each brand of vehicle has its own connection design and they are not universal, but the new stations will come with two standard connectors.
According to the Canadian Automobile Association’s website one of these adapters will fit most Japanese and Korean manufacturers such as Nissan LEAF, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and the Kia Soul EV. The other kind of adapter will fit most American and European manufacturers, including Chevrolet, Ford and BMW.
Kevin Weiber is an instructor for the Centre of Trades at Lethbridge College specializing in Automotive Service. He said despite Tesla having exclusive charging ports, they also have competitive charging times.
“The supercharger operates on 240 volt source and charges at very high amperage and it will charge the car from 0 to 80 per cent in 45 minutes.”
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Kevin Weiber adds distance driving is not ideal in most electric models due to the limited battery per kilometer.
The distance per charge varies from model to model. According to each company’s website, the Chevrolet Bolt can get 383 kilometers on a single charge, The Ford Focus can get just 185 kilometers, while the Tesla 5 S can travel up to 539 kilometers.
But is the electric car concept catching on in Canada?
Rick Wittrock is the business and fleet manager at Murray Chevrolet in Lethbridge. He says electric cars are not necessarily a hot seller.
“It’s not a high-volume vehicle and part of that is our geography. We are out on the prairies and people do a lot of long distance driving so charging is an issue.”
Harsh weather conditions have also been factored into the performance of electric car batteries.
According to a study done by the American Automobile Association, hot temperatures can cut into battery range, but not nearly as much as the cold. Some models have seen a 40% drop in battery power range if the heat was on for an extended period of time.
For more information on the locations or adapter models for the electric chargers visit https://www.petro-canada.ca/en/personal/fuel/alternative-fuels/ev-fast-charge-network.
