eTech Learning: EV & AV Technology

For this episode of the eTech podcast Ryan Maughan talks to renowned battery expert Dr Jerry Barker Founder and CTO of Faradion, leaders in Sodium Ion battery technology.

Jerry tells us about his background in lithium battery development stretching back to lithium metal technology and through the emergence of Lithium Ion up to the present day where Jerry is working on exciting new developments in Sodium Ion battery tech.

Jerry has spent almost 40 years working on advanced battery technology having carried out his PhD investigations in novel electrode materials back in 1981. He was also Director of Materials Research at battery pioneers Valence Technology from 1992 to 2005. This wealth of experience makes Jerry generally regarded as one of the leading experts in the field.

Jerry and Ryan discuss this exciting history and how he came to be working on Sodium Ion technology and where Jerry sees this fitting in the market in the future.

Jerry Barker LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-barker-6537947/

Faradion corporate website - https://www.faradion.co.uk/

Ryan Maughan LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-maughan-a2893610/

eTech website - https://www.etech49.com

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For this episode of the eTech podcast, Ryan Maughan talks to Luke Dowell Head of Research and Development at BP Chargemaster.

Luke tells us about his background in electronics and electric vehicle development including AVID, Jaguar Land Rover and then Dyson. Following the closure of the Dyson EV project Luke moved to head up Research and Development at BP Chargemaster.

Luke has had a lifelong passion for engineering and has become recognised as a leading expert in electric vehicle charging.

Going from spending 10 years in vehicle development to grid infrastructure has been a huge change and BP Chargemaster is at the cutting edge of charging hardware and infrastructure development. It forms a key part of BP’s strategy to get to Net Zero by 2050.

Ryan and Luke discuss some of the challenges around vehicle charging, particularly standards compliance and interoperability to ensure a consistent user experience and a robust and reliable charging experience.

They also talk about EV charging practises and how people charge their vehicles and where the infrastructure is required as well as the different designs of EV charging solutions from home charging to high power fast charging solutions.

Listen to this podcast to learn more about charging hardware and the work happening at BP Chargemaster to develop its electric vehicle charging products.

Luke Dowell LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukedowell/

BP Chargemaster corporate website - https://bpchargemaster.com/

Ryan Maughan LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-maughan-a2893610/

eTech website - https://www.etech49.com

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For this episode of the eTech podcast Ryan Maughan talks to Dr Russell Fowler a Senior Project Manager from the UK National Grid company focused on transport decarbonisation.

Russell is a mathematician by background having gained a PhD in Maths from the University of Birmingham in 2006. He has worked in the energy sector since then joining the National Grid company in 2012. He is now responsible for managing programs and planning to ensure that the UK has the necessary infrastructure to transition to more decarbonised transport over the coming years.

National Grid is the UK’s energy infrastructure company. Responsible for the national electricity and gas transmission networks running throughout the country. National Grid is a huge organisation with over 20,000 employees world-wide, they are responsible for more than 7,000 km of overhead electricity lines and over 7,500 km of high-pressure gas pipes.

Russell and Ryan discuss the challenges of increased electric vehicle adoption and additional renewable energy, as well as the long term planning process to ensure that the National Grid is developing effectively to adapt to these changing requirements.

If you are interested in the energy market and infrastructure challenges associated with electric vehicles and renewable energy check out this podcast.

Russell Fowler LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-fowler-18922b128/

National Grid Corporate Website - https://www.nationalgrid.com/

National Grid Carbon Intensity App - https://www.nationalgrideso.com/news/introducing-our-carbon-intensity-app

Rapid Project - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-vision-for-the-rapid-chargepoint-network-in-england/government-vision-for-the-rapid-chargepoint-network-in-england

North Sea Link Energy Connector - https://northsealink.com/

Ryan Maughan LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-maughan-a2893610/

eTech website - https://www.etech49.com

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LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/etech49-limited
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For this episode of the eTech podcast Ryan Maughan talks to Dr Stefan Permien CEO of a new German energy storage manufacturing company focused on the battery cell electrode - UniverCell.

A chemist and professional kite surfer by background after 3 years working as CTO in a battery development company Stefan made the bold decision to set up a specialist battery manufacturing company, UniverCell. Stefan talks to Ryan about his journey including building a new electrode manufacturing line in their facility in Northern Germany.

UniverCell is focused on energy storage for specialist applications such as stationary energy storage and medical technology, their market is growing quickly as more applications seek improved energy storage.

UniverCell manufacture electrodes for 3rd parties including, lithium iron phosphate, lithium titanate, lithium sulfur and sodium ion battery technology in addition to collaborating with other battery cell developers they also have their own proprietary chemistries.

UniverCell are making new battery chemistries in batch production processes and also have a higher volume continuous extrusion process which allows for a reduction in solvent.

Stefan has a vast knowledge of different battery technologies and critical manufacturing processes.

If you want to learn more about battery manufacturing and applications outside of automotive and how different battery chemistries and properties such as volumetric and gravimetric energy density are important and vary between these different applications, then check out this podcast.

Stefan Permien LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefan-permien/

UniverCell Holding GmbH corporate website - https://univercell.de/

Ryan Maughan LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-maughan-a2893610/

eTech website - https://www.etech49.com

Follow eTech49 on social media:
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For this episode of the eTech podcast Ryan Maughan talks to Kimmo Rauma who was the founder and CEO of Visedo Oy now part of the Danfoss Editron group.

Kimmo tells us about his personal journey, his early experience in business and how he came to set up Visedo and the early years and then the transition when Visedo was acquired by Danfoss in 2017.

Ryan and Kimmo discuss some of the key electrification areas in the off-highway market, electrifying machines like stone crushers and forestry equipment. Kimmo encountered many challenges and difficulties in those early days engaging with the market and convincing customers why they should be looking to electrify their machines. Kimmo explains that he came to realise that there was more to the business case for electrification than fuel savings alone.

Passenger cars often get the big headlines, but there are major advancements happening using electrification to improve the productivity and efficiency in off highway machinery. Machines that often work 7 days a week and in one year will operate for more hours than an electric car would in its entire life time. But understanding the nature of the challenge and the business case to make electrified machines a viable proposition is essential.

Kimmo realised the electric motors low speed torque delivery and ability to manage transient load conditions better than a conventional diesel engine drive system was the key to unlocking huge benefits from improved control and productivity.

Listen to this episode to learn more about Kimmo’s journey as an entrepreneur from pioneering start-up to major global corporation and find out more about the challenges and opportunities for electrification in the heavy duty vehicle and marine markets.

Danfoss Editron - https://www.danfoss.com/en/about-danfoss/our-businesses/power-solutions/danfoss-editron/

Kimmo Rauma LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimmorauma/

Vacon Drives - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacon

Singapore harbour autonomous electric trucks project - https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/psa-to-launch-tender-for-driverless-vehicles-this-year

Electric ferry News 1 - https://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/02/20170202-visedo.html
Electric ferry news 2 - https://www.greenport.com/news101/Products-and-Services/hybrid-electric-propulsion-system-to-reduce-ferry-emissions

Ryan Maughan LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-maughan-a2893610/

eTech website - https://www.etech49.com

Follow eTech49 on social media:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/etech49-limited
Twitter - https://twitter.com/acexryan

For this episode of the eTech podcast Ryan Maughan talks to Dane Davis the CTO of Nikola Motor Company.

Ryan and Dane discuss the meteoric rise of Nikola. Having been founded by Trevor Milton in 2008 in Salt Lake City, Utah, they recently burst into the public eye following a reverse takeover listing on the Nasdaq and high profile investments from Bosch and CNH Industrial to name but two.

Dane joined Nikola more than 4 years ago and he has an extensive engineering history in controls and vehicle design, even being involved in very early hydraulic hybrid systems. He has led the development of their cutting edge Fuel Cell and Battery Electric Trucks

Dane has recently moved with Nikola to Phoenix, Arizona he talks about the move and Nikola’s new facilities and he discusses the technology behind the Nikola truck in detail, the reasons behind Nikola’s use of Hydrogen Fuel Cells rather than solely focusing on battery electric technology and some of the key features of the Nikola truck powertrain.

Dane and Ryan also discuss business strategy, leadership and the importance of the right culture in a disruptive technology business. This is an excellent and in-depth discussion between Dane and Ryan and definitely worth a listen if you are interested in the future of truck powertrain or the Nikola motors story.

Dane Davis LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/rdanedavis/

Nikola Motor Company Corporate Website - https://nikolamotor.com/

Nikola Video Showing Some of their new facility - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPRpmyBh9xE

CNH Industrial Corporate website - https://www.cnhindustrial.com/en-us/Pages/homepage.aspx

Ryan Maughan LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-maughan-a2893610/

eTech website - https://www.etech49.com

Follow eTech49 on social media:
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For this episode of the eTech podcast Ryan Maughan talks to Nick Kitchin the CEO and co-founder of Cumulus Energy Storage who are developing novel rechargeable copper zinc battery technology for grid storage applications.

Ryan finds out more about Cumulus Energy Storage and their technology and discusses the grid energy storage market in detail with Nick. Grid energy storage is a vast and growing market driven in part by the move to more renewables and also connected to the rise of electric vehicles. Grid storage helps to even out supply and demand so we can utilise capacity more efficiently rather than paying power plants to run at zero load.

Cumulus Energy Storage are at an early stage and they have big plans to develop the business into a significant player in the grid storage market. Nick’s story is also very interesting as he moved from engineering to business coaching and being an author and back into life as an entrepreneur.

Nick Kitchin LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-kitchin-337b2a9/

Cumulus Energy Storage Corporate Website - http://www.cumulusenergystorage.com/

Ryan Maughan LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-maughan-a2893610/

eTech website - https://www.etech49.com

Follow eTech49 on social media:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/etech49-limited
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For this episode of the eTech podcast Ryan Maughan speaks to Dan Murphy who is a Principal Engineer at semiconductor powerhouse, ST Microelectronics.

Dan agreed to come on the podcast to talk about ST’s Silicon Carbide switching devices. Dan and Ryan look at the semiconductor industry and talk about subjects ranging from MEMS accelerometers for gaming devices to the design principles of high power traction inverters.

Dan shares some fantastic insights to ST’s technology and production roadmap and industry trends in electromobility for power device design.

If you want to know more about the key power electronics modules used in electric and hybrid vehicles we did a video explainer that you can find here: https://youtu.be/SxSywlYPrFU

Remember to subscribe, rate and comment! We love to hear any feedback or questions you may have. Also, make sure to check our back catalogue of videos and podcasts to learn more about the technology that goes into electric vehicles!

Daniel Murphy LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murphy-5587518/

ST Corporate Website - https://www.st.com/

Ryan Maughan LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-maughan-a2893610/

eTech website - https://www.etech49.com

Follow eTech49 on social media:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/etech49-limited
Twitter - https://twitter.com/acexryan

For this episode of the eTech podcast Ryan Maughan talks to Matt Windle the Executive Director of Engineering at the famous sports car maker, Lotus.

Matt talks about his background and how he got into engineering and progressed to his current role at Lotus.

Matt and Ryan discuss the Lotus Evija hyper car, the inspiration behind this amazing project and the engineering challenges and solutions that led to such an amazing result that really put Lotus on the map. How did Lotus manage to achieve the dynamic goals whilst dealing with the electrified powertrain systems.

The Evija is an important halo product for the company setting the design direction and a clear statement of intent as they move into electrifying their model line up.

Matt and Ryan then go onto discuss Lotus’ plans for the future, the recently announced focus on electrification and what that means for future development programs at Lotus.

Lotus is an iconic sportscar brand and now as part of the Geely group of automotive companies they have the resources to invest heavily in new product development. This is driving an ambitious program of vehicle development that will see the company launch an exciting range of new vehicles under their Vision80 plan.


Matt Windle LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-windle-a360ba16/

Lotus Corporate website - https://www.lotuscars.com/

Lotus Vision 80 - https://media.lotuscars.com/en/about/vision80.html

Phil Popham Interview - https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/lotus/352492/lotus-abandons-petrol-power-all-electric-future

Four wheel drive lotus type 63 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_63

Ryan Maughan LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-maughan-a2893610/

eTech website - https://www.etech49.com

Follow eTech49 on social media:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/etech49-limited
Twitter - https://twitter.com/acexryan

For this episode of the eTech podcast Ryan Maughan talks to Kevin Brundish the CEO and co-founder of AMTE Power the UK’s leading battery cell development and manufacturing company.

Ryan finds out more about AMTE Power, their history which stretches back over 20 years to the start of the Lithium battery industry and their exciting plans for the future. AMTE has a flexible battery cell production facility based in Thurso in the North of Scotland where they have been developing new battery cell technology and manufacturing processes for many years. The Thurso facility is one of a very small number of such facilities in the world.

Kevin and Ryan discuss lithium battery technology, and the place that AMTE fit in the market supporting the research and development of new battery cell technologies and manufacturing processes.

AMTE are helping to drive forward the performance of Lithium Ion battery cells for specialist high performance applications. As well as Lithium Ion batteries the company is also heavily involved in the development of new Sodium Ion battery technology.

AMTE has been in the press recently as they are involved in not only one but two battery Giga Factory developments, the first to scale up their manufacturing for specialist cells and the second supporting Britishvolt with their plans for a high-volume production facility for more conventional cells.

This was a fascinating discussion covering many aspects of battery cell technology and manufacturing from an expert in the field.

Kevin Brundish LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-brundish-59158221/

AMTE Power Corporate website - https://amtepower.com/

Britishvolt Corporate Website - https://britishvolt.com/

Ryan Maughan LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-maughan-a2893610/

eTech website - https://www.etech49.com

Follow eTech49 on social media:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/etech49-limited
Twitter - https://twitter.com/acexryan