29 Oct 2026
Beyond EV Charging: Elocity’s Approach to Smarter Grid Management
Electrification continues to increase pressure on the power grid. The challenge is not simply supplying more electricity, but managing demand within existing infrastructure. In multi-unit residential buildings, adding EV chargers can exceed available electrical capacity and trigger costly upgrades.
Smart charging offers a practical alternative. The U.S. Department of Energy explains how coordinating charging with building loads and grid capacity can reduce peak demand and improve the use of existing infrastructure.
Elocity is addressing this challenge by turning EV charging into a controllable electrical load.
Elocity, Strategic Ventures’ newest engagement, is a Canadian energy technology company combining EV charging hardware, its HIEV software platform, and intelligent load management. With deployments across 12 countries, Elocity supports more than 50 charger models and manages over 20 MW of EV charging load.
Managing Demand Dynamically Through Software
Elocity’s HIEV platform distributes available electrical capacity across connected chargers. Its dynamic load management adjusts charging power in response to building consumption, helping properties accommodate more EV chargers without automatically requiring electrical service upgrades.
The platform supports more than 50 charger models through OCPP-certified software, allowing compatible third-party hardware to operate within one management system. Elocity also offers its own charging hardware.
This software-based approach helps buildings manage peak demand and creates opportunities for utilities to coordinate electricity use.
Richmond Centre: Grid Management in Practice
At Richmond Centre in British Columbia, Elocity’s system manages 1,212 smart Level 2 chargers across a large residential development.
The system allows four chargers to share available circuit capacity, helping the development support extensive EV charging without a grid service upgrade.
According to Elocity’s project estimates, the system reduced peak demand by more than 60% and avoided over $4 million in capital costs compared with a traditional infrastructure approach. Although these figures are project-specific, outcomes could be comparable for similar installations.
The project was recognized as a 2026 Clean50 Top Project, and clearly demonstrates how intelligent load management can accommodate new electrical demand while making better use of existing capacity.
Connecting Buildings and Utilities
Managed charging can help utilities coordinate EV demand, support demand-response programs, and potentially defer distribution infrastructure upgrades.
Elocity’s work with Toronto Hydro and Plug’n Drive illustrates this opportunity. The Toronto Hydro EV Smart Charging Pilot allowed participants to monitor, schedule, and control charging through a mobile app. The pilot also examined charging patterns and customer behavior, highlighting how charging controls can give customers flexibility while helping utilities better understand electricity demand.
Toward Broader Energy Management
Elocity’s roadmap points toward coordinating EV charging with solar generation, battery storage, and grid controls through HIEV Nano. This could help buildings use available solar energy and manage demand more effectively. These capabilities depend on product readiness, compatible equipment, and utility requirements.
Elocity is also pursuing broader energy partnerships, including its collaboration with EnerFORGE.
For Strategic Ventures, Elocity represents an opportunity at the intersection of software, electrification, and grid modernization. Its platform addresses an immediate challenge—managing charging demand—while creating a foundation for broader energy coordination.
The opportunity is bigger than EV charging. Elocity helps buildings manage growing electricity demand and make better use of existing grid capacity.