Hexagon Purus has secured up to CAD 8.5 million from The Commercial Vehicle Innovation Challenge (CVIC) in British Columbia, Canada. The funds will support labor and capital expenditure to further develop its leading battery electric vehicle technology for the Tern RC8. The grant is launched under CleanBC Go Electric’s Advanced Research and Commercialization (ARC) program which aims to support growth in BC’s zero-emission vehicles industry and to create jobs.
The funding, subject to certain milestone criteria being met, will be used at Hexagon Purus’ facility in Kelowna for the Tern RC8, a groundbreaking battery electric Class 8 truck tailored for the North American market. The truck will be exclusively distributed by Hino Motors, and the distribution agreement foresees up to 10,000 trucks to be delivered by 2030. The project is expected to result in approximately 40 new positions in Kelowna.
“Hexagon Purus began operations in Canada in January 2020, and since then we have grown from 20 employees to approximately 100 over the past three years. We are delighted to have secured this funding which will support labor and material costs of our battery electric products and technologies in North America to accelerate zero-emission mobility.” says Todd Sloan, Executive Vice President of Battery Systems and Vehicle Integration, Hexagon Purus.
Driving Energy Transformation
To reach the 1.5°C ambition set by the Paris agreement back in 2015 the transportation sector is required to reduce emissions by 75% until 2050. In the U.S., both the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) have introduced proposals and regulations that addresses the need for further reductions in emissions in the transportation sector. In California, CARB has introduced a regulation for truck manufacturers (Advanced Clean Truck standard), and more recently, proposed a new regulation for fleet owners (Advanced Clean Fleet standard). Both regulations aim at reducing emissions and accelerate the adoption of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) in the transportation sector in California. As part of both the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) and the proposed Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) regulations, the truck manufactures and fleet owners are required to have an incrementally higher ZEV content when selling or operating a fleet of trucks in California from 2024 onwards. The ACT regulation has already been adopted by five other states in the U.S. (Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington) and two more states are in the public process required to adopt (Colorado and Main).
The ACT requires amongst other that 5% of all new Class 7 and 8 trucks sold in 2024 in California must be ZEV while new additions to fleets of Class 7 and 8 trucks operating to and from intermodal seaports and railyards are required to be ZEV from 2024. The ACT regulation also requires 100% of truck manufacturers’ sales in 2040 to come from ZEVs, putting an effective end to sale of internal combustion engine trucks in California and incentivizes investments into infrastructure and supply chain.
There are approximately 1.8 million commercial trucks operating in California daily across a various set of classes including amongst other 219,000 Class 7 and 8 trucks. According to CARB, the combined effect from the ACT and ACF regulations will lead to approximately 0.5 million ZEVs on the road by 2035 in California, increasing to 1.6 million in 2050.
Contacts
Eli Turander, Global Communications Director, Hexagon Purus
Telephone: +47 953 35 795 | eli.turander@hexagonpurus.com
Mathias Meidell, Investor Relations Director, Hexagon Purus
Telephone: +47 909 82 242 | mathias.meidell@hexagonpurus.com
About Hexagon Purus
Hexagon Purus enables zero emission mobility for a cleaner energy future. The company is a world leading provider of hydrogen Type 4 high-pressure cylinders and systems, battery systems and vehicle integration solutions for fuel cell electric and battery electric vehicles. Hexagon Purus' products are used in a variety of applications including light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, buses, ground storage, distribution, refueling, maritime, rail and aerospace.
Learn more at www.hexagonpurus.com and follow @HexagonPurus on Twitter and LinkedIn
About The Commercial Vehicle Innovation Challenge
The Commercial Vehicle Innovation Challenge (CVIC; the Challenge), launched under CleanBC Go Electric’s Advanced Research and Commercialization (ARC) program, is a funding initiative with a vision to address technology gaps in the commercial vehicle sector, support growth in B.C.’s zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) industry and create jobs through B.C. innovation. CVIC supports projects that advance commercialization activities in B.C.’s ZEV sector and produce collaborative, industry-demanded projects that have significant benefits for B.C.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
