The City of Brampton has established a partnership with Zenobē, a global fleet electrification and battery storage specialist headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Brampton announced this week that it has tapped London-based Zenobē, alongside Canada-based partners such as TD Securities, to launch a $4 billion initiative supporting the region’s transition to a lower-emissions economy.
As part of a decade-long electrification framework, Zenobē will help convert the bus fleet of Toronto’s largest suburb into an emission-free fleet.
“We bring considerable experience working with local and federal public sector partners to enable and accelerate their transition to electric fleets,” says Steven Meersman, a cofounder of Zenobē. “We are delighted to grow our presence in Canada, and with Brampton, as we jointly achieve their financial and ecological objectives.”
The partnership intends to bring 1,000 electric buses to the roads and replace the city’s existing diesel vehicles, according to a statement from the City, supporting current routes for 43 million passengers annually.
The “historic investment marks a turning point for Brampton and for public transit across Canada,” believes Brampton mayor Patrick Brown.
“By transitioning to a fully electric bus fleet, we’re not only reducing emissions—we’re creating jobs, improving air quality, and building a cleaner, healthier future for our residents,” he said.
Maninder Sidhu, member of parliament for Brampton East, stated that the project will create “thousands of jobs”—more specifically, an estimated 5,000 direct and indirect jobs across both Canada and the UK.
“As Canada continues our efforts on trade diversification, this investment by U.K. partners is great news for our economy,” the Minister of International Trade remarked.
Brampton intends to procure electric buses from Canadian suppliers, with planning and design, software, supply chain relationships, and capital markets expertise provided by the Zenobē team.
“Brampton is setting a new standard for sustainable, modern public transit,” stated Heidi Dempster, General Manager of Transit for the City of Brampton. “Beyond reducing emissions and improving air quality for our residents, this partnership will also drive local economic growth, creating thousands of jobs and building expertise right here in Brampton.”
Founded in 2017, Zenobē today supports over 2,000 electric vehicles across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
One of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, Brampton is home to nearly 800,000 people and more than 110,000 businesses.
The first phase of the ZEB project’s infrastructure is expected to go live in early 2027.