Fleet electrification and battery storage specialist Zenobē and the Canadian city of Brampton in Ontario are heading a group of UK and Canada-based partners that will launch a CA$4bn partnership supporting the zero emissions transition of the Brampton Transit bus fleet.
The partners say this effort will mark the first phase of a 10-year electrification framework, serving Toronto's largest suburb and supporting the transition to a zero-emission public transit system.
The Brampton project is one of the largest zero-emission bus (ZEB) programs in North America, offering substantial environmental and social benefits. ZEBs reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve local air quality and decrease noise pollution — all of which contribute to healthier, cleaner communities.
The partnership intends to bring 1,000 electric buses to the roads and replace the city's existing diesel vehicles. It will initially support current routes and ridership numbers of more than 40 million passengers annually, with the first phase of the project's infrastructure is expected to go live in early 2027.
As part of this partnership, Brampton will procure electric buses from Canadian suppliers, with planning and design, software, supply chain relationships and capital markets expertise provided by the Zenobē team. The initiative also includes comprehensive technical experience and expertise from the UK and dedicated electrical and civil engineering teams on the ground in Brampton.
Fouzia Younis, the UK's Consul-General to Ontario, announced: "This landmark partnership between Zenobē and the City of Brampton is a powerful example of how UK-Canada collaboration can deliver real-world solutions to global challenges. It showcases the UK's leadership in clean transport and infrastructure, while creating skilled jobs and driving innovation on both sides of the Atlantic. I am thrilled to see British expertise helping to shape a more sustainable future for one of Canada's fastest-growing cities, and we look forward to this project serving as a model for future international cooperation."
Steven Meersman, co-founder and director of Zenobē, commented: "We bring considerable experience working with local and federal public sector partners to enable and accelerate their transition to electric fleets. Our customized match-funding options, combined with the experience from delivering over 120 electric depots globally, lowers costs and de-risks the inevitable path to zero-emission fleets. We are delighted to grow our presence in Canada, and with Brampton, as we jointly achieve their financial and ecological objectives. We expect this will serve as a model for other projects currently under development."
Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, Member of Parliament, Brampton East said: "The U.K. is one of our oldest and closest trading partners and I am very excited that our relationship will deepen even more through the investment partnership between the City of Brampton and Zenobē. As Canada continues our efforts on trade diversification, this investment by U.K. partners is great news for our economy, creating thousands of jobs."
Founded in 2017, Zenobē has introduced largescale fleet electrification backed by innovative debt financing and expertise in optimising operations. Today, it supports over 2,000 electric vehicles in the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Zenobē provides end-to-end electrification solutions to public and commercial fleet operators, including financing, charging infrastructure and a battery managed service.
Zenobē's joint majority shareholders are KKR and M&G Infracapital, who provided £870m (CA$1.6bn) of equity in 2023 for global investment into electric vehicles and grid-scale batteries.
