Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) has partnered with Seven Generation Capital (7Gen), a company in Canada that supports fleet operators in deploying electric medium- and heavy-duty fleets with an electric vehicle (EV) and charger leasing model. VCIB has provided 7Gen with a $3.2 million loan to support the purchase and lease of 10 electric trucks and the required EV fast chargers to accelerate the delivery of EV fleets in Canada.
VCIB’s loan has paved the way for 7Gen to lease the equipment to GoBolt, a tech-enabled provider of sustainable fulfillment and last-mile logistics for retailers and ecommerce brands. This EV fleet is estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by 4,140 tons over the trucks’ seven-year lease period. This accounts for an annual reduction of 491 tons compared to using internal combustion engine trucks.
The partnership between VCIB and 7Gen showcases a new way of business that facilitates the EV fleet transition – a business model made possible thanks to project developers such as 7Gen that offer an end-to-end fleet electrification package. 7Gen’s innovative service offering helps companies understand the various cost structures and select the trucks that work best for them, as well as navigate and choose the best EV infrastructure suppliers for their needs. There are similar companies in the United States that operate “as-a-service” business models to help small and mid-size logistics operators overcome the challenges of transportation electrification, but 7Gen is the first company to launch this type of service in Canada, supported by financing from VCIB.
“The opportunity for a cleaner future is huge as we make one of the biggest economic pivots in history,” says David Berliner, VCIB’s head of clean energy deal structuring. “Innovative financing for the EV industry is the missing piece to scale the net-zero transition. Our partnership with 7Gen aligns with our net-zero climate commitment and provides cost savings while advancing cleaner transportation systems in Canada.”
“7Gen appreciates the commitment of Vancity Community Investment Bank to help us secure debt financing to enable our last-mile delivery client to accelerate their deployment of zero emission vehicles,” comments Frans Tjallingii, CEO of 7Gen. “We will need more financing institutions to value carbon reductions in their capital allocations to realize societal climate positive goals. Additionally, we are seeing more shippers who are including zero-emission transportation requirements in their tenders. These are big drivers in motivating carriers to commit to ZEV deployments.”
“GoBolt is excited to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles for logistics and last-mile delivery and working with trusted partners like 7Gen and VCIB allows us to move quickly and confidently to achieve our goals,” states Chris Taylor, vice president of strategic initiatives at GoBolt.