This week, we’re going to look at one of the most revolutionary ideas to improve our planet. It’s called the zero emission vehicle – better known as ZEV – and it may be able to reduce our contribution to air pollution and possibly climate change.

Most people may know the name Tesla, which is one of the first truly zero emission vehicles on the market. It runs on batteries like many others that are in the pipeline. But there are other types that exist including an engine that runs on hydrogen. Our first guest takes us on a guided tour of the hydrogen engine and why it may represent the real future of ZEVs. His name is Xianguo Li and he is a Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering Professor at the University of Waterloo.

While ZEVs may seem like an excellent purchase, the reality is that there isn’t much of a demand for them. However, when people are asked about their perception of these vehicles, they are quite high. This is known as latent demand and our next guest reveals to us how we may be able to turn that interest into actual sales. She is Zoe Long and she is the Research Manager for the Sustainable Transport Action Research Team at Simon Fraser University.

In our SASS Class, we learn about how governments and people who like ZEVs can improve sales. Our guest teacher is Scott Hardman and he is a professional researcher in the Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research Center, in the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California Davis. We learn about the different types of government incentives that exist and which country happens to have the greatest success in getting people to adopt ZEVs. We also find out that governments can only do so much and that word of mouth may still be the best way to increase purchases.

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