Thousands Plug Into EV & Hydrogen Vehicle Expo Experience

Thousands of Edmontonians turned out to see, experience and learn about the world of electric vehicles firsthand at the Edmonton EV and Hydrogen Vehicle Expo held this past weekend at the Edmonton Expo Centre.

With the help of a financial contribution from Natural Resources Canada, the Expo was designed to introduce Edmontonians who may be unfamiliar with electric vehicles to a wide range of zero emission mobility options. In addition to electric cars, e-bikes and e-scooters, the City also took the opportunity to unveil its new hydrogen bus which will join the fleet soon alongside our battery electric buses.

“Judging from the turnout of almost 6,000 people, we can tell there is a lot of interest in learning more about zero emission vehicles," said Chandra Tomaras, Director of Environment and Climate Resilience.

In addition to test drives and education sessions with industry experts, having the members of the Electric Vehicle Association of Alberta as well as Tesla Owners Club of Alberta bring their vehicles and share their expertise, was one of the highlights of the Expo. Conversations with EV owners allow people to ask practical questions and learn from their experience.

The other great aspect of this show was the focus for newcomers to Canada, who were able to discover the pros, cons, myths and facts around zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) through translation services provided by Empower Me. Through this, we were able to show that there are ZEVs for every income level—with cars ranging from the Chevy Bolt EV to Porsche Taycan EV, as well as a growing used ZEV market.”

“We were excited to be able to introduce Edmontonians to our new hydrogen bus,” said Eddie Robar, City of Edmonton Fleet and Facility Services Branch Manager. “The City of Edmonton is testing hydrogen fuel cell electric bus technology as another tool to achieve our greenhouse gas emission goals. The new bus complements the City’s current electric bus fleet and allows us to experiment with other electric vehicle technologies.”

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is one of the City’s top priorities. We know that cars will continue to be a common part of Edmonton’s transportation system, but as city planners, we want to encourage people to think about how they also can shift away from fossil fuels and towards electrification. The City's Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategy identifies how we can make it easier to own an electric vehicle, prepare the path for electrifying transportation of personal vehicles and ultimately help reduce GHG emissions. In Alberta, electric vehicles produce 41 per cent less emissions than gas/diesel vehicles and that number is improving as the grid gets greener.

The City of Edmonton’s Energy Transition Strategy and Action Plan has set ambitious climate action goals and commits Edmonton to reduce community GHG emissions:

• by 2025: by 35% (compared to 2005 levels);
• by 2030: by 50% (compared to 2005 levels); and
• by 2050: achieve net zero per person GHG emissions.

While walking, biking and taking public transit are the best way to reduce emissions from transportation, zero emission vehicles are poised to play a key role in those emission reductions. Yet, according to the City’s most recent Climate Change and Energy Perceptions Survey (2021), found 48 per cent have no experience with electric vehicles.

With new electric vehicles being announced almost daily it seems, it’s very likely that your next vehicle could be battery electric. Canada is committed to decarbonizing the country's transportation sector and becoming a global leader in ZEVs. As such, the Government of Canada is aiming for 100% of new light-duty cars and truck sales to be zero-emission by 2035. Learn more about federal government incentives for electric vehicles.

Whether powered by electricity or hydrogen, zero emission vehicles are going to be a part of our future. Will you be riding the current?