Saint-Jérôme, Que.-based The Lion Electric Company has closed its overnight market public offering to raise funds for growth and expansion. 

The offering raised approximately $68 million in proceeds at $3.46 per unit for a total of 19,685,040 units.

The warrants commenced trading under the ticker LEV.WT.A on the TSX on Dec. 16, following closing of the offering. It commenced trading on the NYSE under the symbol LEV.WSA around Dec. 21.

Alternative asset manager Power Sustainable Capital Inc., through its subsidiary Power Energy Corporation, purchased 9,842,519 units for approximately $34 million. Power Sustainable is based in Montreal and Beijing.

Lion Electric (LEV-T) designs and manufactures Class 5 to Class 8 commercial urban trucks and all-electric buses and minibuses for schools, paratransit and mass transit. The company went public on May 2021.

It plans to use the proceeds to continue its growth strategy, including its capacity expansion projects in Joliet, Ill. and Mirabel, Que. At the beginning of November, the company assembled its first zero-emission Lion C school bus at its Joliet location.

The company also announced it had completed production of its first lithium-ion battery pack at the Mirabel facility.

Final certification of the first battery pack is expected in Q1 2023, followed by a gradual ramp up of production. The first batteries produced in Mirabel will power the Lion5 truck and the LionAmbulance, expected to reach commercial production in the first half of 2023.

At full scale, Lion Electric's Mirabel facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of five gigawatt-hours of battery capacity.

Canadian government proposes new ZEV regulations

The Canadian government has proposed new regulations around zero emission vehicle (ZEV) adoption. At least 20 per cent of new vehicles sold in Canada will be zero emission by 2026; at least 60 per cent by 2030; and 100 per cent by 2035.

“We’ve seen the difference a ZEV sales mandate has made in British Columbia and Quebec where most of Canada’s zero-emission vehicles are purchased. With a federal mandate, all Canadians will benefit from a greater supply of electric passenger vehicles, lower sticker prices over time as manufacturing scales up, and no longer being tied to the volatility of gas prices at the pump,” said Adam Thorn, transportation director at the Pembina Institute, in a statement.

The Pembina Institute is a clean energy think tank with offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.

“Moreover, the sales mandate ensures market certainty meaning that building out charging infrastructure now comes with little risk, knowing that the number of electric vehicles on the road will increase significantly in the near future and that all new vehicle sales will be ZEVs by 2035."

New ZEV registrations comprised 6.9 per cent of new vehicles registered in the second-quarter of 2022, an increase over 4.9 per cent a year earlier. Over the same time period, 10.5 per cent of new ZEV registrations in Canada were in Quebec. In B.C., 13.8 per cent of new vehicles registered in the second quarter of 2022 were ZEVs.

The federal budget provided $1.7 billion for a renewed ZEV purchasing- or leasing-incentive program until March 2025.

Taiga begins delivery of Orca watercraft to Florida

Taiga Motors Corporation has begun delivering its all-electric Orca jet ski in Florida.

Florida features the second highest EV adoption rate in the U.S. It is also the largest boating market in the country.

"The impressive boating culture, paired with high-public awareness of EVs, positions Florida as a premiere destination for Taiga," said Sam Bruneau, Taiga’s CEO in a statement. "We're thrilled to welcome the first Florida owners with our Taiga Service Providers program."

Taiga (TAIG-T) reported a $1.3-million revenue milestone in the third-quarter of 2022, thanks to the deliveries of over 40 electric Orca jet-skis to Canadian consumers.

In March, SustainableBiz reported on the delivery of Taiga’s first of four planned Nomad electric snowmobiles.

Both the snowmobiles and jet-skis were included in Time’s list of the best inventions of 2022.

Toronto Parking Authority begins EV initiative

The Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) has launched an EV charging initiative as part of the city’s TransformTO net-zero program.

The initiative was inaugurated with the opening of a parking facility equipped with eight new EV charging stations at 11 Wellesley Street West.

TPA is on track to deliver more than 100 EV charging stations by the end of 2022. Its EV charging network is planned to grow to more than 650 EV chargers in off-street (garages and lots) and on-street Green P locations by the end of 2024.

With Bike Share Toronto, TPA will coordinate the installation of electric stations where suitable.

According to a release, There are 117 EV chargers being installed at 11 locations in the coming weeks. Beginning in 2023, TPA will assume the ownership and operation of all on-street EV chargers across the city.

TPA is North America's largest municipally-owned operator of commercial parking and manages Bike Share Toronto, North America's third largest bike share program.

NFI subsidiary receives contract for up to 157 buses

New Flyer of America Inc., a subsidiary of Winnipeg-based NFI Group, (NFI-T) received a five-year contract from the Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) for up to 157 buses. 

These will either be the zero-emission, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG 60-foot heavy-duty transit buses, or the clean-diesel Xcelsior 60-foot buses.

PRT is the second largest public transit agency in Pennsylvania, with plans to transition to a zero-emission bus fleet by 2045.