EV truck factory announces grand opening in Kelowna next week

Hexagon Purus announced today the grand opening of its zero-emission heavy-duty truck plant.

The opening is slated for April 19 but details of the announcement are light until then.

“The plant does EV battery assembly, hydrogen storage systems for hydrogen trucks, and vehicle integration for big, zero-emission heavy-duty trucks,” the invite says.

In August 2021 the company announced construction was starting on a “micro-factory” in the Airport Industrial Park.

READ MORE: Building power systems for low emission trucks expected to create 100 jobs in Kelowna

At that time, it was slated to open in the summer of 2022 with more than 100 workers to take standard diesel trucks and convert them to cleaner energy sources.

Hexagon Purus, according to its website, is based in Norway but Todd Sloan, executive vice-president, systems grew up in Kelowna.

“The company is a leading global supplier of Type 4 high-pressure hydrogen cylinders and systems, battery systems, and vehicle integration solutions for fuel-cell and battery-electric vehicles,” the website says. “Hexagon Purus products are used in a wide range of applications, including light, medium, and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, buses, ground storage, distribution, refueling, marine, rail, and aerospace.


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Rob Munro

Rob Munro

Rob Munro has a long history in journalism after starting an underground newspaper in Whitehorse called the Yukon Howl in 1980. He spent five years at the 100 Mile Free Press, starting in the darkroom, moving on to sports and news reporting before becoming the advertising manager. He came to Kelowna in 1989 as a reporter for the Kelowna Daily Courier, and spent the 1990s mostly covering city hall. For most of the past 20 years he worked full time for the union representing newspaper workers throughout B.C. He’s returned to his true love of being a reporter with a special focus on civic politics