Climate Finance Archives : VCIB

Commercial/Industrial Solar: An Untapped Clean Energy Opportunity Begins to Emerge

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Priya Prasad

Large industrial building, solar panels and trucks aerial view

It’s one of the biggest untapped opportunities in the Canadian renewable energy market.

A well-established but under-utilized pathway for developers and investors to generate steady cash flow with projects that also contribute to local resilience and business continuity, and for governments at all levels to help them get the job done.

And with interest in commercial/industrial solar on the rise and new financing solutions becoming available, it may be coming soon to an existing building, new construction site, or residential complex near you.

The market segment known as commercial/industrial (C/I) or mid-market solar consists of four- to 50-megawatt installations that are smaller than a utility-scale solar farm but bigger than a home rooftop array. They can be set up to feed electricity directly to the grid. But they’re also the right size to supply distributed, behind-the-meter power where provincial regulations allow them to.

Either way, a well-designed C/I project can provide steady cash flow for investors and greater flexibility for utilities. Behind-the-meter projects can also give building owners and occupants a decisive advantage by stabilizing and reducing their energy costs while reducing operating emissions. Often an even more important driver, they deliver resilience for buildings and communities and better safety for occupants by keeping the lights on and equipment running when a heatwave, wildfire, or severe storm takes the power grid offline.

By replacing electricity generated by fossil fuels, commercial/industrial solar projects help governments keep their promises to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive an accelerating global climate emergency while enabling the private sector to make decisions and investments for resilience, economic benefit and environmental performance. All of these advantages demonstrate that the shift to renewable energy is about opportunity and gain, not loss and pain.

There are no reliable public figures for the number, size, or output of commercial/industrial solar installations in Canada. In the United States, commercial and community solar represented just small slivers of the more than 200 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity installed nation-wide through June, 2024, according to the U.S. Solar Energy Industry Association.

But with a new federal tax credit now in place in Canada, commercial/industrial solar has never been more practical or affordable.

Team of engineers measguring solar panels on a rooftop using a tape measure — Team of engineers measuring solar panels on a rooftop using a tape measure

A Serious Prospect for Owners and Developers

Commercial/industrial solar is just beginning to gain recognition as a serious prospect for building owners and solar developers. It’s an obvious consideration for new greenfield development, especially as Canada and other countries move into an intensive period of new home construction. It’s also an opportunity worth exploring for any existing property with roof space, a parking lot, or any other open expanse where it might make sense to install solar panels for commercial/industrial applications.

And in provinces where net metering programs apply to commercial/industrial solar, developers can send their surplus power back to the grid and receive a credit on their electricity bills.

In late 2020, energy market analysts at Wood Mackenzie estimated the U.S. potential for new commercial solar capacity at 145 GW. At the time, only 3.5% of commercial buildings were equipped with solar arrays, while another 1% had connected to community solar.

In 2023, a study for the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) found [pdf] that behind-the-meter solar could grow 20- to 40-fold by mid-century, enough to produce 18.8 GW of electricity per year, given the right financial and policy supports to expand the market. (A gigawatt is a billion watts of electricity, but the actual value of that output varies across the country depending on how efficiently a solar array captures energy and how efficiently it’s used. Alberta and Saskatchewan have the best solar resources of any Canadian province.)

The public release of the CanREA report didn’t differentiate between home rooftops and larger commercial, industrial, or community systems, pointing to a wider set of questions that help define the commercial/industrial potential:

How many warehouses are there in Canada? How many big-box supermarkets or department stores? Or parking lots? Or data centres?
How many square feet of roof space do these, and other facilities, represent, and what share of that total would be suitable for solar development?
With the country entering a new boom in home construction and renovation, where are the opportunities to install community solar systems that serve multiple homes, apartment buildings, housing co-ops, non-profit housing developments, or condominiums/stratas, including the large percentage of homes that are locked out of rooftop solar?

A quick data scan indicates nearly two billion square feet of industrial and logistics sites in Canada (though they aren’t all single-storey), 493 department stores, 71 to 97 million parking spaces, and 336 data centres.
Those numbers don’t easily translate into a sudden avalanche of project activity. Each site is unique, with its own possibilities, needs, and constraints. But they do point to the opportunity to work from the ground up, building successful projects where owners see the benefits, developers are ready to deliver, and responsive financing is available to seal the deal.

Getting From Here to There

For any renewable energy project, developers have to put in the time and effort to get the best energy output from a site, anticipate and minimize impacts on the environment, habitats, and natural heritage, and build a strong base of public support for their plans.

“Renewable energy project development relies on innovative vision, careful planning, and a lot of hard work,” CanREA writes.

“This applies both to consumers looking to generate and store power at their own property, and to multinational companies wanting to invest in a utility-scale development project.”

But commercial/industrial solar projects face their own special challenges compared to rooftop projects that can be standardized and templated, or utility-scale solar farms that are big, expensive, and profitable enough to warrant one-off contracts and specialized technical and financing arrangements.

“By contrast, middle market projects don’t have a consistent approach to soft cost management,” one analyst writes. “They lack the standardization of residential projects and the scale of utility projects.” That means “soft costs”, from installation to sales and service, can soak up a much larger share of a budget than they would with a larger project.

But there are still compelling opportunities to be found, even though they vary from one site to the next. “In this space, the motivation for going solar is often financial, and payback periods are heavily dependent on incentives and utility rate structures,” explains one U.S. solar company. Warehouse owners in one province or state might pay twice as much for peak-period electricity as their counterparts 200 or 2,000 kilometers away. Adding battery storage to a commercial/industrial solar system might unlock big savings on grid electricity from one project or make another one down the road too expensive to build.

Financing Makes the Difference

All of which points back to the need for a developer that can navigate the opportunities and complexities at each site. And for a community finance partner like Vancity Community Investment Bank that understands the underlying “why” of renewable energy development, knows the market, and has the patience and flexibility to help structure a deal that delivers on the promised benefits for building owners, developers, and investors.

In an owner-occupied site, the value proposition for onsite solar might be to reduce and stabilize energy costs and safeguard the many millions of dollars per hour that a large enough business can lose if the power goes out. If the building is leased to commercial or industrial tenants, the owner might try to make their commercial property more valuable in a competitive market by selling reliable, affordable power back to tenants.

For privately financed solar projects, the federal government’s new Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit offers a rebate for up to 30% of capital costs for investments taking place between March 28, 2023, and December 31, 2034. So, there’s never been a better time for developers and site owners to take a close look at the commercial/industrial solar opportunity.

Because of the market niche that commercial/industrial solar occupies—large enough to require custom design and financing, but too often considered too small to warrant the deeper investment and bespoke attention that go into a utility-scale development—a successful project depends on developers and lenders that are prepared to sweat the details and work through the hurdles. It’s easier for any institution to justify that extra effort when it is laser-focused on impact—from local economic gain and resilience, to big-picture emission reductions.

That’s how Vancity Community Investment Bank, as Canada’s only values-driven bank, can deliver the creativity and commitment to support the investments that make a difference for local businesses and communities.

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If you would like to learn more about VCIB’s Climate Finance solar products, please reach out to Alfred Lee, Manager, Climate Finance at alee@vcib.ca.

Financial partnership powers multi-residential geo-exchange installations

Posted on September 12, 2024December 10, 2024 by Cecilia Bermeo

September 12, 2024, Traditional territory of multiple Indigenous nations, including the Haudenosaunee and the treaty territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit/Toronto, ON – Vancity Community Investment Bank (“VCIB”), Subterra Renewables (“Subterra”) and Forum Asset Management (“Forum”) are pleased to announce the closing of a new credit financing partnership that will support the installation of geo-exchange systems at multiple new residential towers in Ontario. This is the second VCIB credit facility in support of Forum and Subterra’s innovative partnership that works to integrate geo-exchange technology into new buildings.

Subterra, a leading low-carbon energy developer, brings its expertise and its Energy As A Service (EAAS) utility business model. EAAS reduces costs and risk by offering residential property developers the opportunity to partner with an experienced geothermal asset manager—utilizing best practices, dedicated resources, and direct experience to unlock the value of a geothermal exchange system. Subterra’s EAAS offering provides several benefits to residential property developers including reduced upfront capital investment, alignment with green building standards for easier certification, potential access to development charge credits, and enhanced eligibility for CMHC-insured loans.

Typically, new residential buildings would be served by traditional, carbon-intensive HVAC systems. Instead, geo-exchange heating and cooling systems will be installed, avoiding carbon emissions of up to 8,500 tonnes annually. That equates to taking more than 1,800 cars off the road each year or planting more than 141,000 trees.

Installing energy efficient, low-emission geo-exchange heating and cooling systems in new buildings puts long-term sustainability at the forefront. Unlike deep geothermal energy, which uses fracking methods to access heat deep in the earth’s crust to create electricity, geo-exchange employs much shallower and less intrusive drilling methods to use the earth as a thermal battery, storing heat in the summer and extracting it in the winter. This process creates energy-efficient heating and cooling for buildings and eliminates the need for conventional, fossil fuel-based HVAC equipment.

Partnerships like this one demonstrate how collaboration can drive transformative change. “We’re excited to see geo-exchange gain traction in Canada through this financing partnership. Subterra and Forum’s approach will have a significant impact on the urban carbon footprint, advancing our low-carbon, climate-efficient transition,” said Jennifer Hutcheon, VCIB’s Vice President. “Financing energy efficient, low-emission technology is crucial in the fight against climate change and necessary to make homes more resilient.”

Subterra, and every member of its team, is dedicated to combatting climate change. “With this in mind, we expect our business partners to share our vision and values,” noted Lucie Andlauer, CEO of Subterra. “This is why partnering with VCIB was such an easy decision. VCIB has a long history of positively impacting communities and the climate. Their financing allows Subterra to build renewable and sustainable geothermal heating and cooling solutions for new developments and provides significant value to developers, building owners and tenants, supporting our ethos that making the right choice for the environment does not need to cost more than the status quo.”

“Forum is committed to delivering Extraordinary Outcomes™ to its stakeholders. Our partnership with Subterra and financing relationship with VCIB demonstrate our ability to partner with and drive value for Canada’s leading entrepreneurs,” added Rob Kaplan, Partner at Forum Asset Management. “This investment represents Forum’s third in sustainable infrastructure and HVAC services companies. We are proud of our role in setting a new standard for energy efficiency in Canada.”

About Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB)

Vancity Community Investment Bank is an Ontario-based bank and a subsidiary of the Vancity Group. VCIB provides specialized financing solutions for impactful projects like social purpose real estate and clean energy projects. For purpose-driven businesses and organizations, VCIB offers banking, investing, and financing solutions tailor-made to increase their growth and impact. VCIB is a Certified B Corporation and a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values.

About Subterra Renewables

Subterra Renewables is a geothermal exchange utility company with access to the largest drilling fleet in North America, operating the most energy-efficient and resilient heating and cooling technology in the world. Subterra is a fully vertically integrated company that custom engineers, installs, owns and operates first-of-its-kind geothermal exchange systems. As a leader in the sustainability and decarbonization movement, its best practices align with government ESG initiatives, expedite building approvals, and accelerate a path to net-zero.

About Forum Asset Management

Forum is a North American investor, developer and asset manager. Our core purpose is to deliver Extraordinary Outcomes™ to our stakeholders. Our adaptable, agile, and dynamic team is committed to sustainability and responsible investing, creating value that benefits the communities in which we invest. Our investment focus includes real estate, private equity, and infrastructure. The enterprise value of our assets under management exceeds C$1.7 billion. We’re proud to have delivered top-tier alternative asset returns since 2002, while positively impacting over 10,600 lives.

Media Relations
Vancity Group
mediarelations@vancity.com
778-837-0394

Subterra Renewables
Victoria Hunt
victoria@subterrarenewables.com

Paving the way for electric fleets

Posted on March 25, 2024April 16, 2025 by Cecilia Bermeo

Owning vs. leasing electric trucks vcib

Electric fleets offer a great opportunity to significantly reduce the emissions of Canada’s road transportation sector (which roughly accounts for 22% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions).

The challenge: Electrifying truck fleets requires support from a whole ecosystem of actors – from getting the right manufacturer and project developer, to accessing financing.

In 2022, Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) formed a values-aligned partnership with Seven Generation Capital (7Gen), an organization that works to remove barriers to electrification for medium and heavy-duty commercial fleets.

VCIB’s first round of financing with 7Gen supported the acquisition of ten electric trucks and the required fast chargers, to be leased to GoBolt, a growth logistics firm that offers secure storage and e-commerce fulfillment to big retailers.

“7Gen’s electric vehicle (EV) and charger leasing model makes all the difference for businesses looking to make the switch to clean energy,” said Alfred Lee, Manager, Climate Finance at VCIB.

According to 7Gen’s projections, this EV fleet is estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by 4,140 tonnes over the trucks’ seven-year lease period, which accounts for an annual reduction of 491 tonnes compared to trucks using internal combustion engines.

While similar business models have been used to finance technologies like solar panels, this loan was one of the first of its kind in Canada for EVs.

Leading the charge in EV fleet adoption

In 2023, VCIB provided additional financing to help 7Gen lease 21 EVs and 37 chargers at multiple GoBolt locations across Canada (in Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary). Last year, VCIB’s financing recently supported 7Gen in leasing over 50 EVs that are helping electrify fleets for leading logistics and delivery companies across the country.

“To make these projects work, we need a lender who’s pragmatic and willing to work with us to figure out the details,” says Frans Tjallingii, 7Gen’s CEO.

“Financing is not just about the money, it’s about value alignment and finding a financing partner who shares your goals.”

As part of the Vancity Group, VCIB is committed to becoming net-zero by 2040 across its lending portfolio. 7Gen’s service model and VCIB’s specialized financing reveals a new business model that can facilitate Canada’s EV fleet transition.

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If you would like to learn more about VCIB’s climate finance products, get in touch.

Climate-ready homes, empowered owners: SwitchPACE CIC’s winning combo 

Posted on February 27, 2024April 16, 2025 by Cecilia Bermeo

Corey Cadeau double thumbs up with double heat pumps outdoors scaled

The residential sector is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, making improving the energy efficiency of Canada’s housing stock crucial for climate change mitigation. However, improving energy efficiency often requires homeowners to invest in expensive retrofit projects, which not everyone can afford.

For SwitchPACE CIC. – a Community Interest Corporation based in Halifax, Nova Scotia – the answer lies in an innovative solution: Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing.

Often offered by municipalities or non-profit organizations, PACE loans provide flexible, low-cost financing for homeowners to carry out energy efficiency upgrades on their properties with no upfront costs.

“Home energy retrofits go a long way in mitigating the negative effects of climate change, like health concerns stemming from extreme heat,” says Alfred Lee, Climate Finance Manager at Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB). “But PACE programs haven’t been implemented at a large scale in Canada yet.”

With a mandate to scale up carbon reductions, SwitchPACE CIC. is turning the tide by becoming a leader in PACE program development and execution.

“The municipal PACE efficiency programming we run really empowers residents in the fight against climate change,” says Julian Boyle, President at SwitchPACE CIC. “Climate is such a large, complex global issue, but bringing it down to the local level to help homeowners save energy and save the planet is really exciting.”

Breaking the entry barrier with values-aligned financing

Earlier this year, Switch Pace CIC. launched a new program with financing support from VCIB – the Switch Program – Switch West Hants.

Through this program, homeowners within Nova Scotia’s West Hants municipality can finance almost any project that saves energy, increases comfort, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions – including geothermal heat pumps, air heat pumps, solar panels, window upgrades, insulation, and air sealing, amongst others.

Solar system installment on a Nova Scotia property. Photo courtesy of SwitchPACE CIC.

“Financing highly collaborative approaches like SwitchPACE CIC’s programs are core to VCIB’s mission,” says Alfred. “Through these programs, SwitchPACE CIC. is making home energy upgrades accessible by covering the upfront cost of the contractors and offering homeowners a 10-year payback period.”

Through PACE, homeowners can also repay the loan through a surcharge via their property tax bills.

A pathway towards a net-zero future

Through deep energy retrofits, SwitchPACE CIC’s municipal programs are reducing an average of 50 to 70% greenhouse gas emissions per year and have a market uptake of 2 to 5% of the housing stock.

“A large portion of all energy consumed in Canada comes from buildings, which creates great economic opportunity to invest in energy efficiency and solar,” adds Julian. “If we are to have a shot in building a net-zero future, we need to mobilize more low-cost private capital to enable 3 to 4 times more energy efficiency investments in buildings.”

With seven active programs across Nova Scotia, SwitchPACE CIC. is looking to launch 20 more programs across Canada within the next 2 years.

“VCIB has been very supportive of our program developments” says Julian. “We are looking forward to working with the climate finance team more in the future to scale efficiency financing across Canada.”

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Learn more about VCIB’s climate financing in our website. If you’re looking to finance a specific project, get in touch.

Groundbreaking investment brings electric vehicles to local freight delivery

Posted on July 28, 2022April 30, 2024 by Cecilia Bermeo

ev fleet

A groundbreaking investment in electrified local freight delivery is just the first step in an ambitious strategy by Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) to tap into one of the biggest opportunities on the road to a decarbonized future.

VCIB’s $3.2-million loan has paved the way for Vancouver-based Seven Generation Capital (7Gen) to acquire ten electric trucks and the required EV fast chargers that it will then lease to GoBolt, a growth logistics firm that offers secure storage and e-commerce fulfillment to big retailers.

Until recently, trucking was seen as one of the biggest challenges in the effort to reduce the fossil fuel use that drives climate change, for one very basic reason: while electric motors and batteries made sense for cars and light trucks, they couldn’t deliver enough distance or power to haul freight.

But now, a new generation of batteries offers better range at lower cost. That leaves an emerging electric freight industry with just two remaining hurdles: showing freight logistics companies that the technology is ready for prime time, and creating a turnkey business model that allows them to save money on electric trucking from the first day of a new lease.

Financing Makes the Difference

VCIB’s project finance deal with 7Gen is one of the first of its kind in Canada, says David Berliner, the bank’s Head of Clean Energy Deal Structuring. But it won’t be the last. The country has set some “very ambitious electric vehicle targets” as part of its wider climate strategy, and it’s going to take “a whole ecosystem of actors” to get the job done.

That includes financial institutions like VCIB, part of the Vancity Group, which has led the effort to fund clean energy projects by covering the buyer’s initial investment out of longer-term cost savings—and has a tried-and-true business model to bring to the freight sector.

“Companies that want to make the transition from traditional fossil-fueled trucks to electric vehicles will face higher up-front capital costs, but then they won’t pay for fuel and their maintenance costs will be lower.” It’s an opportunity that Berliner says is directly analogous to the residential and commercial solar market.

In the solar sector, a shift occurred more than a decade ago from trying to sell companies solar panel equipment to offering ‘zero money down, solar-as-a-service’, and in the process bringing in a separate financing partner.

“Solar energy was offered to the customer for a fixed price. This was compelling, especially in an era of famously volatile fossil fuel prices,” he recalls. “Project financing was what allowed solar to go from a niche industry to an industry with hundreds of billions of dollars and gigawatts deployed.”

In the freight sector, “A company like 7Gen can put that together into one package and become a one-stop shop for electrification, creating a very compelling business model that makes it a lot easier for more customers to make the switch,” he adds. “And financing is the fuel that is required for those business models to work.”

Seeing Is Believing

Some bigger institutions will be able to plan, manage, and finance the EV transition unassisted, Berliner says. “But for the majority, there will have to be a concierge or a project developer that helps companies navigate all the different aspects and benefits of a project.”

7Gen is building that model from the ground up.

“We were one of the first companies out there that looked at this from a customer perspective,” says 7Gen CEO, Frans Tjallingii. “As a freight operator, what do you need to do to get into EVs? You need a lot of different elements to all fall into place and work together, which is not always a given” if a company tries to juggle the vehicles, chargers, and financing unassisted.

Until 7Gen came along, “there was no one to really integrate vehicle and charger selection, interoperability and financing in an end-to-end, turnkey package that supported the fleet operators in moving toward electrifying their operations,” he adds. “Ultimately, our goal is to make it a lot easier and de-risk the journey. We know what it means to adopt an EV strategy, and we’re here to help, while our clients focus on their core business”.

One aspect of that journey is to help freight operators align the transition with their existing vehicle acquisition plans. Technologies are evolving, battery densities are improving rapidly, and potential customers are worried about choosing the wrong option. So 7Gen works with customers as a trusted advisor, developing tailored, step-by-step transition plans to shift their fleets over time.

“We go through their current operations, look at which vehicles they’re replacing anyway, compare new diesel with electric vehicles, and talk about what makes most sense for those vehicles and those routes,” he says. “Usually, under 300 to 350 kilometres and with some time for charging, it’s worth looking at electrics.”

There’s a “commercial benefit in being zero-emission, and a niche in being values-driven and on the forefront of that wave,” he adds. With the right turnkey package, “you can also save money from day one, get some commercial value, be more efficient, and gain a learning advantage over competitors that are waiting longer to get in.”

Only the Beginning

7Gen never encourages anyone to switch a whole fleet at once. “Start with one, two, five, 10, depending on your plans for fleet renewal,” Tjallingii advises. “The next year, we do the analysis for you, and if it makes dollars and cents, we see what’s available and look at the next generation of vehicles.”

The direct climate benefit from 7Gen’s leasing agreement with GoBolt is deceptively small, a reduction of just 4,140 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over seven years. But it’s proof of concept for an electric commercial vehicle market that is primed for take-off across Canada and around the world.

“Most forward-thinking corporate actors like the 7Gens and Vancitys of the world are pushing those ecosystems forward,” Berliner says. “And demand side of that ecosystem is increasing the call for logistics companies like GoBolt. Alongside that is the lower total cost of ownership, so those two things go hand in hand.”

But in the end, all of that potential comes back to having the right financial partner.

“There’s a well-established leasing market in Canada,” Berliner says, but that market depends on fossil-fueled vehicles. “We were willing and able to sit alongside a partner, roll up our sleeves, and do more work. This is a first, smaller transaction, and smaller transactions are often harder to get done.” But given the urgency to electrify transportation, “we wanted to be a good partner and find a good partner to work with.”

“To make these projects work, we need a lender who’s pragmatic and willing to work with us to figure out the details,” Tjallingii says. “VCIB was very interested in this project from the get-go because it’s zero emission and really fits with their values. So we were very glad to be able to work with them.”

VCIB and Accelerate partner on the path to net-zero

Posted on June 16, 2022April 16, 2025 by Cecilia Bermeo

ZEV Thumbnail

Thursday, June 16, 2022: Vancouver B.C./Territories of Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations – Accelerate is pleased to welcome Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) as its newest Impact Partner, enabling research into the positive economic impact and labour force activity generated through Canada’s Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) supply chain.

“As an Impact Partner, VCIB will be an important part of Canada’s ZEV future, and we look forward to collaborating to grow Canada’s zero emission vehicle industry,” said Matthew Fortier, Accelerate President and CEO. “This partnership shows that the financial services sector is integral to building and fostering a successful and competitive ZEV ecosystem.”

VCIB will use its experience building a resilient economy to help examine opportunities and challenges within various segments of the ZEV ecosystem and will leverage its cleantech sector expertise to further support and engage with Accelerate’s growing membership.

“Advancing the adoption of zero-emission vehicles is essential to decarbonizing the transportation sector, while supporting the mobility of workers through a just transition,” said Jonathan Frank, Head of Business Development, Clean Energy, Vancity Community Investment Bank. “Joining Accelerate builds on our decades of leadership in environmental sustainability and economic inclusion, and supports Vancity’s commitment to be net-zero by 2040,” continued Jonathan.

Canada will be better positioned to attract foreign investment and vehicle mandates by developing a strong and integrated ZEV supply chain. Crucially, expanding the vehicle sector will support a just transition for hundreds of thousands of workers who build parts, repair or assemble combustion engine vehicles. Mobilizing other sectors to ally with the vehicle industry will also open opportunities within clean energy, responsible mining and battery assembly and create more high-value jobs, including in software and AI design.

“Accelerate is focused on developing an essential part of Canada’s industrial future – one that is clean, that drives cross-sectoral economic activity and provides a just transition for Canadian workers,” said Fortier. “VCIB will be a key partner as we work towards a new ZEV future.”

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About Accelerate

The Accelerate Alliance is a national initiative bringing together key players across Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) supply chain, from mining to battery R&D, commercialization, parts and vehicle assembly and charging infrastructure. Accelerate enables this emerging industry to collaborate, strategize and advocate for priorities that will catalyse the development of a ZEV supply chain in Canada.

Accelerate is a rapidly growing community of companies, organizations and associations representing all sectors of the ZEV supply chain. A full list of members can be found at: https://acceleratezev.ca/our-members/

About VCIB

VCIB is an Ontario-based schedule 1 federally chartered bank and a subsidiary of Vancity Credit Union. As Canada’s first values-driven bank, VCIB provides banking, investing, and financing solutions, to help purpose-driven businesses and organizations thrive, grow, and foster change. Additionally, VCIB offers specialized financing solutions for social purpose real estate and clean energy projects. VCIB is a certified B Corporation and a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. For more information, visit vcib.ca, tweet us at @BankVancity and connect with us on LinkedIn.