Peek inside this new electric truck battery facility in Kelowna

This is no ordinary vehicle conversion company.

And nor is the deal Kelowna tech outfit Hexagon Purus has signed in the United States.

The US$2 billion (CDN$2.7 billion) long-term contract with Hino Motors USA will see them convert 10,000 commercial vehicles from gasoline to zero emission battery power over the next seven years.

The deal highlights how Kelowna and Canada has the ability and talent to cash in on the newly announced Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) dollars being offered by the Biden administration to make far more green technology on this continent.

It also highlights the Canadian government’s shift to work with its allies in promoting the manufacture of green technology closer to home, away from less friendly, non-democratic nations.

“The start of production will be in September 2024, “ Hexagon Purus executive vice president Todd Sloan said during a media event at the factory near the Kelowna airport this week. “We take the truck and fully electrify it. We put in a battery pack, auxiliary module and all the functional software to run the vehicle.”

Sloan said the design and manufacture of the systems initially will come out of their soon-to-be expanded Kelowna facility, where up to 150 people will be employed. It will reach capacity quickly and the company will open a US-based plant to take over most of production, which is a requirement under the US funding. That’s in addition to two new factories coming in Germany and another in Asia.

Speaking to the green tech opportunities and huge dollars on offer from the U.S. government, and federal Pacific Economic Development monies his company has secured previously, Sloane said Kelowna can be a centre for green manufacturing.

“We started a business here in 2000, and that’s why I chose to have this [new] facility here,” he said. “We could have put this anywhere in North America, but Kelowna is where I grew up, where my family is, it’s a beautiful place to live, and great place to attract talent.”

The company’s engineering team has been based in Kelowna for over 20 years.

Sloan explained B.C.’s proximity to key Pacific logistics (their battery cell supplier is in Japan as is one of their main investors), as well as the supportive UBCO campus next door makes Kelowna a good choice.

The success of Hexagon Purus was highlighted as part of a visit by Harjit Sajjan, the federal Minister of International Development and Minister Responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada. He was promoting the recent budget which puts Canada in lockstep with the Biden administration’s recent investment announcements regarding the global economy.

“Hexagon Purus’s expansion will help improve the adoption of zero emission vehicles that is critical to Canada’s transition to a cleaner economy and create well-paying jobs,” Sajjan said.

“Our allies around the world are accelerating their efforts to strengthen economic relationships with democracies that share our values and Budget 2023 is a direct response to these challenges and opportunities.”