QUEBEC CITY and AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Dec. 14, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - FLO, a leading North American electric vehicle (EV) charging network operator and a smart charging solutions provider, saw significant growth in 2022. The company expanded its operations, opening its first-ever U.S. production facility in Auburn Hills, Mich., and saw increases in charging events, employment numbers and charging station deployments. FLO also announced noteworthy collaborations with General Motors, Hydro-Québec and Imperial. Additionally, FLO successfully sponsored significant new legislation that aims to improve access to reliable EV chargers for California drivers.
"We continue to see expanding EV adoption and have rapidly grown our operations to meet the increasing EV charging needs of drivers across North America," said Louis Tremblay, FLO President and CEO. "This year was a pivotal year for FLO and I'm proud of the work we've accomplished. We will continue to grow and innovate, all while supporting EV charging done right – fast, reliable and convenient."
This week, FLO will officially open its assembly and testing facility in Auburn Hills. The company's first-ever U.S. production facility marks a new chapter in FLO's operations and will help FLO bring 250,000 EV chargers to American drivers and support 730 jobs by 2028. The chargers assembled at this facility are expected to help FLO expand its charging network across the U.S.
FLO's network now includes more than 75,000 fast and level 2 EV charging stations at private, public, and residential locations. These charging stations now provide more than an estimated 1 million charging events each month to customers across North America. FLO maintains a leading uptime of 98%* or more on its North American network.
Recently, FLO began supplying GM with CoRe+ MAX™ chargers, which will be installed in local communities across North America through GM's Dealer Community Charging Program. This program will install up to 40,000 public Level 2 EV chargers in local communities. FLO's CoRe+ MAX charger delivers a maximum power output of 19.2 kW – the most power available to a Level 2 charger – and charges up to 2.7x faster than a typical Level 2 charging station. Depending on the size and specifications of the vehicle, these chargers typically can provide an 80 percent charge in four to six hours. These new charging stations will join the FLO network and GM's Ultium Charge 360 network and will be available to all EV drivers. The charging stations will then be installed in key public locations including workplaces, multi-unit dwellings, event venues, colleges and universities.
FLO has nearly doubled its number of employees in just the last 16 months from 250 to 500. This increase is driven by increased demand for reliable EV charging solutions throughout North America.
Hydro-Québec, owner of the Electric Circuit EV charging network, selected FLO to supply the Electric Circuit with up to 7,500 Level 2 chargers between 2022 and 2026. FLO and Hydro-Québec have been collaborating since 2013. Of the 7,500 Level 2 chargers FLO will supply under the new contract, 3,000 will be public curbside chargers on the road, 2,000 will be for Hydro-Québec's fleet, and 2,500 for other usages such as businesses and municipalities.
FLO and Imperial announced a unique collaboration that will support Canada's net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions goals by expanding the FLO network. Key components of the collaboration include jointly developing a charging service option for Imperial's Esso- and Mobil-branded wholesalers, and an agreement to transfer credits under federal Clean Fuel Regulations.
On Sept. 16, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation into law to improve access to reliable EV chargers for California drivers. The EV Charging Reliability Transparency Act, sponsored by FLO and ChargerHelp!, will help policymakers and EV drivers understand the performance of California's EV infrastructure and highlight inequities in driver access to reliable stations. This act has focused attention on EV charger reliability, and numerous other states are now considering enacting similar reliability requirements.
"As we look back on 2022, we have a lot to celebrate, but the real work is just starting," added Tremblay. "The EV wave is building momentum, and FLO is determined to be ready to provide large numbers of new EV drivers with the best charging experience. Our investments in U.S. operations this year ensure that FLO will continue charging forward in 2023."
Read more on FLO's exciting 2022 developments here.
* Uptime is a reliability metric that measures the availability of EV charging networks to users and is the percentage of time that a charging station is operational and in use or available for use by EV drivers, subject to certain exemptions. You can read about FLO's transparent formula for calculating uptime here.
FLO is a leading North American electric vehicle (EV) charging network operator and a smart charging solutions provider. We fight climate change by accelerating EV adoption through a vertically integrated business model and by delivering EV drivers the most dependable charging experience from curbside to countryside. Every month, we enable more than 1 million charging events thanks to over 75,000 fast and level 2 EV charging stations deployed at public, private and residential locations. FLO operates its network across North America and our high-quality charging stations are assembled with care in Michigan and Quebec. To learn more about what "EV charging done right™" means to us, visit flo.com.
SOURCE FLO
Andrea Knapp, [email protected], (418) 480-5884
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