OAKVILLE - Electric vehicle owners in Oakville, Ontario, can now charge their cars while enjoying a Tim Hortons coffee. Canada??s largest restaurant chain installed its first electric vehicle charging stations as part of a new pilot project.

"The electric vehicle infrastructure is in its infancy and we see a potential opportunity for Tim Hortons to help make a true difference by expanding that infrastructure in Canada," said Paulo Ferreira, senior director for international design and building standards for Tim Hortons, in a press release. "At this stage, the goal for us is to explore and understand the technology, to see how it can work at our restaurants and how we can, in turn, support our guests who choose to go electric."

Free charging stations are now available for guest use at an Oakville Hortons location, and for use by corporate employees at the head office, in an effort to study the technology, its usage and opportunities.

Tim Hortons partnered with Oakville Hydro and the town of Oakville to launch the pilot project. "Tim Hortons continues to help us make Oakville cleaner and greener, towards realizing our vision of creating Canada's most livable town," said Mayor Rob Burton.

Tim Hortons continues discussions with additional municipalities in an attempt to expand the pilot before deciding on the future possibility of EV charging stations across the company's more than 3,300 restaurants across Canada. The company will also make provisions to run electrical wires to future charging stations through conduits in parking lots at all newly-built Canadian restaurants going forward, to simplify the installation process.