Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program funding for owners and operators of charging and refuelling infrastructure

Introduction

Launched in 2019, the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) is a $680 million program that addresses a key barrier to the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEV)—the lack of charging and refuelling stations in Canada— by increasing the availability of localized charging and hydrogen refuelling opportunities where Canadians live, work, and play.

^*RFP timelines are subject to change and the ZEVIP application guide supersedes information on this webpage.

Eligibility criteria

Eligible applicants

To be considered for funding under ZEVIP, applicants must be legal entities validly incorporated or registered in Canada or abroad, including not-for-profit and for-profit organizations such as:

• electricity or gas utilities
• companies
• industry associations
• research associations
• standards organizations
• Indigenous businesses and community groups
• academic institutions
• provincial, territorial, regional, or municipal governments or their departments or agencies where applicable

The following are not eligible for funding support under ZEVIP:

• Individuals or any part of federal public administration, including departments, Crown corporations and agencies
• Softwood lumber companies and those that are vertically integrated with them

Note: Projects must be submitted by the organization (the Proponent) that will own the infrastructure and that will be incurring the bulk of the expenditures. Proof of eligible expenditures for reimbursement needs to be under the name of the Proponent.

Eligible projects

To be considered for funding, projects must meet the following requirements:

• Increase localized charging or hydrogen refuelling opportunities in public places, on-street, in multi-unit residential buildings, at workplaces, or for vehicle fleets.
• The work performed must be in compliance with all applicable local codes (for example, building and electrical) and bylaws (for example, zoning and parking).
• For EV charging infrastructure projects, your proposal must include:
  1. A minimum of one (1) charger of 200 kW and above; or
  2. A minimum of two (2) fast chargers of 50 kW and above; or
  3. A minimum of twenty (20) chargers of all charging levels.
• For Level 2 chargers, each connector can count as a unit towards the minimum of 20 chargers if each connector can charge a vehicle at the same time.
• Fast chargers with multiple connectors and capable of charging multiple vehicles simultaneously and independently at a given output level may be eligible to receive additional funding. The funding amount of multi-connector chargers will be based on the maximum simultaneous output level of operating connectors.
• 25% or more of the connector types installed at the same project site must be universal charging connectors (J1772, J1772 Combo) of the same category (i.e. Level 2 or fast charger). Other proprietary connector types may represent the remaining 75% of all charging connectors installed.
• For hydrogen refuelling projects, the station must be capable of dispensing hydrogen at 350 bar minimum for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and 700 bar minimum for light-duty vehicles.

Eligible expenditures

Eligible expenditures for an approved project under ZEVIP must be directly related to, and necessary for, the implementation and conduct of the project and will include:

• salary and benefits
• professional services (for example, scientific, technical, management; contracting; engineering; construction; installation, testing and commissioning of equipment; training; marketing; data collection; logistics; printing; distribution)
• reasonable travel costs, including transportation, meals, and accommodation
• capital expenses, including informatics and other equipment or infrastructure
• rental fees or leasing costs
• license fees and permits
• costs associated with environmental assessments
• GST, PST, and HST net of any tax rebate to which the recipient is entitled
• overhead expenses directly related to the project will be considered to a maximum of 15% of eligible expenditures

Ineligible expenditures for reimbursement under ZEVIP will include:

• in-kind
• land costs
• legal costs
• ongoing operating costs (e.g., electricity consumption, operation, maintenance, networking fees, subscription fees)
• costs incurred outside the Eligible Expenditure Period, including those for preparing this application

Ongoing operating costs (e.g., electricity consumption, operation, maintenance, networking fees, subscription fees), and costs incurred before a project is approved by NRCan, including those costs for preparing this application, are not attributable to the project (out of scope).

Eligible zero-emission vehicle infrastructure technologies

In order to be considered for funding, projects must be:

• located in Canada
• a permanent installation (hard-wired)
• using new and purchased equipment (not leased)
• for a new installation or expansion of an existing installation (not for the replacement of an existing installation)
• certified for use in Canada (e.g., CSA, UL, Interlink) and commercially available

To be considered for funding, electric vehicle chargers must:

• include one or more of the following charging connector types:
• SAE J1772 standard (Level 2 – 208/240 V)
• SAE J1772 Combo (for fast chargers)
• Other proprietary connector types may represent a maximum of 75% of all charging connectors installed at the same project site, with the balance corresponding to one of those above
• be connected (ability to communicate to other chargers servers, or cloud-using software).

To be considered for funding, the hydrogen refuelling station must be capable of dispensing hydrogen at 350 bar minimum for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and 700 bar minimum for light-duty vehicles.

Funding activities

Maximum funding amount

NRCan’s contribution through ZEVIP will be limited to a maximum of 10 million dollars ($10,000,000) per project.

Financial support for projects is based on the total amount of funds available for ZEVIP and within the ZEVIP timeframe. Funding is subject to an appropriation by Parliament for the fiscal year in which payments are to be made.

ZEVIP will pay up to 50% of Total Project Costs, up to maximum amounts as shown in the following table:

Table 1: Maximum funding for type of infrastructure:

Type of infrastructure	Output	Maximum funding	Maximum funding for Indigenous businesses and communities
Level 2 (208/240 V) connector	3.3 kW to 19.2 kW	Up to 50% of total project costs, to a maximum of $5,000 per connector*	Up to 75% of total project costs, to a maximum of $7,500 per connector*
Fast charger	20 kW to 49 kW	Up to 50% of total project costs, to a maximum of $15,000 per charger	Up to 75% of total project costs, to a maximum of $22,500 per charger
Fast charger	50 kW to 99 kW	Up to 50% of total project costs, to a maximum of $50,000 per charger	Up to 75% of total project costs, to a maximum of $75,000 per charger
Fast charger	100 kW to 199 kW	Up to 50% of total project costs, to a maximum of $75,000 per charger	Up to 75% of total project costs, to a maximum of $112,500 per charger
Fast charger	200 kW and above	Up to 50% of total project costs, to a maximum of $100,000 per charger	Up to 75% of total project costs, to a maximum of $150,000 per charger
Hydrogen refuelling station	Dispensing at 350 bar minimum for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and 700 bar minimum for light-duty vehicles	Up to 50% of total project costs, to a maximum of $1,000,000 per site	Up to 75% of total project costs, to a maximum of $1,500,000 per site

How to apply

• Applicants must review and ensure they meet the eligibility criteria.
• Email infrasubmissions-demandesinfra@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca to receive a copy of the application form.
• Return a completed application form to the email address mentioned above along with the following:
• the Word and Excel documents
• supporting documentation
• an attestation dated and signed by a duly authorized officer

When an application has been submitted, a notification will be sent by ZEVIP acknowledging its receipt. This may take up to 5 business days.

Application timelines and deadlines

• Request for Proposals Initiated – RFP Launch date
• Request for Proposals submission deadline – RFP closing date
• Communicating Funding Decisions – 100 calendar days
• Negotiation period and signature of Contribution Agreements (CA) – 3 months
• Project completion date for electric vehicle chargers – 30 months
• Project completion date for hydrogen refuelling stations – 36 months

Service standards

Our goal is to achieve our service standards at least 80% of the time under normal circumstances:

• acknowledge receipt of application and/or proposal within 5 business days.
• provide funding decisions within 100 calendar days.
• send you a draft Contribution Agreement for review within 30 business days of issuing the Letter of Conditional Approval.
• send you a payment within 30 business days of receipt of a duly completed and documented payment claim.

Contact us

For additional information, email zev-infra-vez@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

Please note: All projects subject to funding through a competitive process cannot be discussed during the RFP process.

Not sure which infrastructure programs apply to your project?

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