Carpool Chats

A broken public EV charging station puts a strain on the relationship between EV drivers and station owners. As more EVs hit the road, it's important that drivers are confident they can easily find a working charging station along their route. Co-Founder and CEO of ChargerHelp!, Kameale Terry, spent time with us sharing how her company not only works to keep charging stations operational, they do it by utilizing the local talent in your area.

The US Department of Energy has 17 different national laboratories around the country with various missions. We spoke with Steve Przesmitzki, laboratory program manager with one of the oldest national labs, Argonne National Laboratory, to hear how the new administration will address climate change. A major focus in meeting the challenge is the decarbonization of transportation. Listen-in as Steve lets us look behind the curtain on some of the new initiatives and projects Argonne is now focused on to assist in that goal.

As vaccinations make their way through the U.S. population, we take a look back on the past year and its effect on the retail fuel market. In addition, we spend some time looking at current transportation patters, fuel demand, consumer behavior and what lies in the near future. Listen-in as we spend time with Joel Hirschboeck, Senior Vice President of Fuel Supply with Giant - GetGo and Chris Rapanick, Director of Business Development with NACS.

Diversifying one's portfolio is Financial Planning 101. After pushing through one of its worst winters on record, the state of Texas will be the first to tell you that diversifying your transportation assets is just as important. Listen-in as we spend time with Lori Pampell Clark, Program Manager at the North Central Texas Council of Governments and Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities Coordinator. She discusses the importance of taking a coordinated approach to transportation infrastructure deployment, the role equity and environmental justice plays and lessons learned after surviving Winter Storm Uri.

Biomass-Based Diesel (BBD) has increased its share of the diesel fuel market from 0.5% volume in 2010 to 5.0% in 2018 and is projected to reach 10% by 2022. The widespread acceptance of BBD can be attributed to its broad compatibility with the U.S. transportation fuel infrastructure and positive environmental attributes. We spent time with Dr. Tristan Brown, Associate Professor of Energy Resource Economics at SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry to learn more about the role of BBD in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. This legislation places the state of New York under a legal obligation to achieve a 100% net reduction of GHG by 2050, economy wide.

With a goal of reducing transportation-related emissions as quickly as possible, what role will biofuels play with the existing 260 million vehicles on the road and the existing 140,000 gas stations that are selling liquid fuels today? We spent time with Jordan Godwin, Associate Director of Renewable Fuels at Oil Price Information Service to discuss the future outlook for the biofuels market.

What if you didn't have to worry about where, when and how you would find your next opportunity to recharge your EV? SparkCharge thinks those barriers are a thing of the past. In an effort to improve the EV ownership experience, SparkCharge wants consumers to have their desired range delivered directly to them, whenever they want it. How? We spoke with SparkCharge founder and CEO, Joshua Aviv, to learn more about where they see the future of mobile charging going and how SparkCharge plans on leading the way.

While there's no doubt that EVs will have a progressively larger role in the future of transportation and in reaching the goal of decarbonizing transportation, is it the only solution? Conventional corn and conventional corn-based ethanol production has a 46% smaller carbon footprint than conventional gasoline and is able to use today's infrastructure. What role will biofuels play going forward? We invited friends from the Renewable Fuels Association to provide an update on the biofuels market and to discuss the future role biofuels could play in the future of transportation.

Reducing transportation-related carbon emissions is essential. For many, the solution rests with electric vehicles. However, is there only one solution? Should we put all of our eggs in one basket? Bob McCormick, senior research fellow with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, joined us and provided a broad view of the situation and the various options on the horizon.

Based on headlines, the fast approaching death of the internal combustion engine is upon us. In addition, governments around the world have announced end dates for phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles. What are the motivating factors involved? Will electric vehicles be the sole long-term solution to reducing transportation-related carbon emissions? Jason Stein, vice president and publisher with Automotive News, joined us and provided additional global context, as well as the potential effects on consumers.