Driving Mobility

There’s a lot of talk about electric vehicles these days, with a heavy focus on what’s not working. Range anxiety. Faulty chargers. Too few chargers — to name a few.

But what’s glaringly missing from the conversation are the “enablers” — the people and the technology that are effectively addressing the biggest pain points and steadily moving us towards mass adoption.

One of those enablers, who’s joining this episode of Driving Mobility, is Alex Gruzen, CEO of WiTricity. WiTricity is focusing on developing and scaling wireless EV charging technology, which allows drivers to charge up their EVs on a compatible surface without getting out of their cars. Much like how you might charge a cell phone on your nightstand.

The technology is so convenient, 70% of drivers say they’d be more likely to buy an EV if wireless charging were available.

But how exactly doe this technology work? What are the associated costs? And what will it take to scale it?

We’re addressing those questions and much more during this episode of Driving Mobility.

Batteries are everywhere. They’re powering our cell phones, laptops, watches, and now, our electric vehicles. 

But while many of these products are ever-evolving, the battery space has remained somewhat stagnant. We’re still relying on the lithium-ion battery, which is dated, heavy, expensive, depends on a limited resource and poses some safety issues.

Developing lower-priced and high-performing batteries to power our EVs is crucial to making EVs more affordable and accessible. 

Here to discuss how we can move beyond lithium, and what the future holds for EV batteries, is Donald Sadoway, Professor Emeritus at MIT, a co-founder of numerous battery companies and a “firm believer in science in service of society.”

Now that the the first set of EV buyers are starting to trade in their cars for newer models, we’re seeing a wave of used electric vehicles hit the market.

But buyers understandably have a lot of questions, especially about the uncertainty around residual value of an electric vehicle. 

We don’t have a consistent track record to draw from. There are questions around battery life. Many times, a buyer may know more about a used EV than the dealer selling it. 

Here today to discuss this issue, and how to effectively address it, is Jimmy Douglas, a former Tesla executive and founder and CEO of Plug, a wholesale auction that aims to empower dealers by offering up vetted and transparent EV data. 

So many of our everyday products are getting better and smarter at a rapid rate.

But much of the infrastructure in the US is still trapped in the 1950s. So many roads are riddled with potholes and many communities have poor internet connectivity, just to name a couple of issues.

We need initiatives to bring the right people and organizations together to bring our infrastructure to the 21st century, so that the US can step in as a world leader in this space.

Here, today, to discuss what it will take to innovate our cities is Jeff DeCoux, Chairman of the Autonomy Institute, an Austin-based nonprofit, that’s stepping in and spearheading this initiative. This organization is working to deploy intelligent infrastructure to help eliminate the digital divide, build stronger more resilient communities and so much more.

Puerto Rico is no stranger to natural disasters.

As it continues to rebuild in the aftermath of numerous devastating hurricanes, Puerto Rico is quickly becoming a benchmark for sustainability in many areas -- including its use of solar panels and the strengthening of the power grid.

Helping to spearjead this effort is Glenn International, the leading supplier of renewable energy, electrical, lighting and telecom equipment for the Caribbean.

In episode 8 of Driving Mobility, Kristin Slanina, ParkMyFleet's CIO, sits down with Ignacio Diaz of Glenn International to discuss the innovations that could protect Puerto Rico from further devastation and what the rest of the globe can glean from the island's efforts.

Across the US, power outages are happening more frequently and are lasting longer than ever before.

This is due to extreme weather and an aging electric grid. Outages aren’t just inconvenient. They’re costly and can have serious health consequences, leading to heat illness, hypothermia and even death. This is where microgrids often come in to help. Enchanted Rock, a Texas-based company, is a leading microgrid provider whose solution is cleaner and quieter than others on the market and is Net-Zero carbon.

ParkMyFleet’s CIO Kristin Slanina sits down with Nick Casas, Vice President of Sales at Enchanted Rock, to discuss our aging grid, microgrids and how we can better address these outages to support vulnerable companies and communities.

Now, more than ever before, we’re seeing plenty of mobility startups innovate and address age-old industry issues. As forward-thinking as they are though, many still need the help of the established players in the space. That’s where George Ayres, Managing Director of AutoMobility Advisors, comes in. George serves as the “bridge” between the newcomers and the established companies to help navigate product planning, sales management, business development and so much more. In this episode of Driving Mobility, ParkMyFleet’s CSO Michele Pierog sits down with George Ayres to discuss the ever-changing landscape of the mobility industry, electrification and what “success” truly means.

When Colin Huwyler attended the University of Buffalo, he traveled an hour to and from class every day, and was determined to find a more environmentally friendly way to commute. That’s when he started experimenting with recycled cooking oil from restaurants and turning that into biofuels.

That experiment launched Huwyler’s sustainability journey.

He’s now the CEO of Optimus Technologies, a company that leverages existing infrastructure to enable diesel engines to operate on 100% biofuels — refined fuel derived from fats an oils.

The process suits numerous types fleets and has net zero carbon emissions. But it’s an especially auspicious option for risk-averse fleets — that are eager to decarbonize — since it bolts onto existing trucks and doesn’t interfere with a fleet’s operation.

For consumers, buying a vehicle has always been a simple transaction. You decide on a make and model you like and search the dealerships near you to see where it’s available.

But for decades, this wasn’t the case for upfitted commercial vehicles. If a plumber, for example, needed a truck — there was no obvious way to find out where to purchase that vehicle with the appropriate upfitting for the job. The same was true for all small fleets, including dump trucks, catering vans and ambulances. There was no data on these vehicles.

That’s when Work Truck Solutions stepped. The company has revolutionized — and continues to innovate — the software available to enable commercial vehicles to be listed and advertised in a seamless and accessible way.

When we talk about electrification, we often talk about personally-owned vehicles — the Teslas and the Fords of the automotive industry. But if you think about it, medium- and heavy-duty trucks make up 5 percent of vehicles on the road and yet, account for about a quarter of U.S. transportation emissions.

That’s why in order to make meaningful inroads on the path to Net Zero, we have to put significant effort into electrifying fleets, vehicles that are essentially always in use and centrally managing.

But encouraging companies to make the switch, and executing that transition is no small feat.

So, how will we get there?

It will take education, cross-sector collaboration, innovation, and some major infrastructure overhauls.

In this episode of “Driving Mobility,” Kristin Slanina, ParkMyFleet’s Chief Innovation Office, sits down with Julie Johnson, head of US Development at Volta Trucks — an electric truck company — to discuss that very question, and the viable solutions companies are primed to pursue today.