Boost for transition to zero emission buses

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This article was published 18/12/2023 (684 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NFI Inc. is the largest manufacturer of zero emission buses in North America with a $250-million supply chain in Manitoba and Canada that it’s trying to help transition towards a zero emission reality.

In many ways, the Winnipeg bus maker is the poster child for the industrial transition to zero emissions by 2050 and so it makes sense that it is the first recipient of an interest-free loan — $10 million — from PrairiesCan’s brand new $100-million Framework to Build a Green Prairie Economy.

The framework — that grew out of a private members bill launched by the late Winnipeg MP (and former Free Press editorial writer) Jim Carr, just days before he passed away one year ago — is to provide a new way for the federal government to work more closely with industries, municipalities and other stakeholders in the Prairies to become leaders in the green economy.

Currently about 20 per cent of NFI’s production is zero emission buses — trolley-electric, battery-electric and fuel-cell electric buses. By 2025 it expects that portion to be between 40 and 45 per cent.

The loan had been negotiated some months ago before the framework was tabled in the House of Commons earlier this month.

Dan Vandal, minister for PrairiesCan, said the framework will put the Prairies on a path to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. He and his staff had more than 500 meetings in the past six months across the Prairies to better understand the right approach and the kind of demand that’s out there.

“This is about stronger coordination with and amongst federal departments on strategic investments on the Prairies,” he said.

For NFI, the funds will help the company continue all sorts of initiatives including redesigning production facilities for its Motor Coach Industries division, where the announcement was made, to allow for a safer work place and for buses to be made quicker.

Soubry thanked its Winnipeg workforce — 2,800 strong — naming union leadership by name at the announcement that was important enough to bring out Premier Wab Kinew, Mayor Scott Gillingham and several other government and industry leaders.

He said that while the pandemic was very hard on the company — it lost $500 million in two and a half years and had to renegotiate its credit agreements eight times — the company has remained the industry leader.

He said the additional funds will bolster its technology development and production facilities that are all ramping up to start producing more buses to meet the growing demand of a $6-billion backlog.

“And at the end of the day we’re going to bring more people into the work force,” he said. “Our future is very, very bright.”

Although NFI is a large, well-funded company that was already well along the journey to produce zero emission vehicles, Vandal said the decision to provide it with such a large piece of a $100-million funding pool is because of the ripple effect a company like NFI can have.

“What NFI does here they do better than anywhere else in the world,” said Vandal. “The moment has to be seized. That’s part of the reason why we’re here and the mayor and premier are here. We have to bring it to the next level and we want to be partners.”

In addition to influencing its supply chain, Soubry said they are also involved with secondary and post-secondary educational institutions to get them to change curriculum to better address the new economic realities of the green economy.

As an acknowledged leader in an important industry in North America, NFI’s success can serve as an encouragement for other industries.

Chuck Davidson, CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, said, “This sends a very strong message that Manitoba can be a real leader in the net zero economy.”

While NFI would probably continue to transition to electric vehicle without the $10 million loan from PrairiesCan, it is seen as an important model that the Framework to Build a Green Prairie Economy wanted to highlight.

“This investment in NFI is like a macro investment in Manitoba’s green opportunities,” said Loren Remillard, the CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. “NFI supports an entire ecosystem of suppliers. This money will spur the type of green economy transformation that the federal legislation seeks to achieve.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca