EPIC Forum: Innovative Technologies to Accelerate MHD Vehicle Electrification
About the Event
Powering medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) vehicle fleets with electricity is a critical strategy to reach state goals for mitigating the effects of climate change and protecting the health of all Californians. Further development of efficient high-power charging, flexible vehicle-to-grid integration, and advanced battery technologies is needed to help stimulate opportunities for fostering innovation and economic development in the state while maximizing emissions reductions from both the transportation and electric sectors. As an area of focus, the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Program is examining research opportunities to develop and demonstrate innovative technologies that can help accelerate MHD vehicle electrification over the coming years.
Through a forum that informed future EPIC Investments, attendees learned about current advancements in MHD vehicle electrification, and explored opportunities for accelerating electrification of vehicles in larger weight classes with innovative grid technologies. The event featured plenary panels, breakout sessions, networking opportunities, a virtual exhibit hall, and more.
Agenda and Presentations
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Fireside Chat: Coordinating California's MHD Electrification Policies
Major fleet sustainability commitments, record-breaking public funding, rapid technological innovation, and bold regulatory requirements have spawned a new era in MHD vehicle transportation. Accelerating the transition to electric technologies will require sustained technology innovation and stakeholder coordination. This Fireside Chat will discuss policy drivers, opportunities for coordination, and the role of clean transportation research and development to help reach the state’s goals.
Connecting to MHD Electric Transportation R&D
In this session, representatives from the California Energy Commission will share how the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Program is driving innovation in California and highlight projects that are leading the way in electrifying the medium- and- heavy-duty vehicle electrification sector.
Plenary: Learning from Early Adopters of MHD Fleet Electrification
MHD transportation electrification has been abuzz over the past few years, but a handful of fleet pioneers paved the path to get to this industry turning point. They took early chances on pre-commercial technologies, learning valuable lessons along the way that others can build from to advance the industry. Join a virtual living room style chat that explores some of these early lessons from fleet leaders representing many sectors including school, transit, warehouse, and delivery.
Breakout Session 1.1: Optimizing Fleet Charging through Vehicle-to-Grid Integration
Charging fleets of MHD vehicles will create new demands on California’s electricity system that will grow with increasing deployment. Charger and energy management technologies can reduce these demands, improve their resiliency, and save fleets money. However, realizing these savings will require new grid management strategies. Hear from leading experts on the challenges and opportunities for implementing charger management and vehicle-to-grid integration technologies for MHD fleets.
Breakout Session 1.2: Creating California's Advanced Lithium Battery Ecosystem
Increasing vehicle range, reducing battery costs, and limiting critical materials and environmental impacts will be key to enabling ubiquitous transportation electrification in the future. Learn from technology developers how innovations along the battery value chain—from improved lithium extraction and processing, to advanced battery design, to end-of-life reuse and recycling—are creating new opportunities and fostering in-state economic development.
Utility-facilitated Customer Adoption Efforts
In this discussion, hear representatives from Pacific Gas and Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Edison on their efforts to accelerate MHD transportation electrification. Presenters will highlight incentive programs and how technology developers can become involved with these efforts. Join this interactive session to learn how California IOUs are “driving” California’s electrification efforts.
Opening Remarks and Day 1 Recap
Breakout 2.1: Addressing Emissions in California’s Transportation Corridor Communities
Communities adjacent to highly trafficked freight corridors suffer disproportionate health impacts driven in large part by emissions from diesel trucks and equipment. Increasing deployment of battery electric technologies can help mitigate emissions and improve the health of the most pollution burdened and vulnerable communities in California. However, this will require development and deployment of advanced charging technologies in locations that support fleet operations as well as intentional coordination and planning strategies to maximize benefits. Engage in a thought-provoking conversation on strategies to electrify critical transportation corridors, future deployment plans, and other steps that can be taken to improve the health and economic conditions in these corridor communities.
Breakout 2.2: Pushing the Boundary on High Efficiency Charging Components and Systems
Charging MHD vehicles will require increased amounts of energy from the grid. Reducing conversion losses by developing high-efficiency charging components and systems can save fleets and ratepayers energy and money. Hear from some innovative technology developers as they highlight a variety of research and deployment opportunities to push the boundary on charging efficiency.
Networking
Join innovators that are driving the push to California’s transportation electrification future in a unique virtual showcase experience. Attendees can explore the Forum’s Networking Rooms, visit the Featured Companies section to learn more, download collateral materials, and speak one-on-one with exhibitors.
Plenary: Mapping Out the Future of Charging Infrastructure
Diversity, innovation, speed, and investment are all needed to reach the level of charging infrastructure necessary to support MHD vehicle electrification. The notion of “one size fits all” does not apply to larger weight classes of electric vehicles and reaching scale will necessitate a new way of thinking about power supply and energy management. Join a thought-provoking virtual living room chat with some of the pioneers powering up MHD vehicle electrification to learn what charging looks like today and what is needed in the future to support market penetration.
Closing Remarks
Speakers
Andrew McAllister
Commissioner Andrew McAllister is serving his second term on the California Energy Commission. Commissioner McAllister has been working on energy deployment and policy since the early 1990s. He has worked across the world to deploy clean, cost-effective energy solutions with counterparts ranging from tiny remote communities to the largest of utilities. Commissioner McAllister administered two of California’s signature renewable energy programs (California Solar Initiative and Self-Generation Incentive Program), developed and operated energy efficiency programs for utilities, and performed a broad range of policy-related research for California and the federal government. He is chair of the board of directors of the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and serves on the board of the Alliance to Save Energy. Commissioner McAllister’s deep grounding in technology, policy, and the marketplace provides him with uncommon insight on the accelerating changes taking place in California’s energy sector. Before joining the Energy Commission, Commissioner McAllister was managing director at the California Center for Sustainable Energy. He worked with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association International, Ltd. in countries in Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa on renewable generation, load management, utility planning, and remote power projects. He was a project manager at an energy-consulting firm and an energy efficiency analyst at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Commissioner McAllister holds a master of science and a Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley. Commissioner McAllister also served as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Patty Monahan
Breakout Session 2.1: Closing the Loop: Lithium-Ion Battery Reuse and Recycling:
In April 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Patty Monahan to be one of the five commissioners on the California Energy Commission. She serves in the Energy Commission’s Science/Engineering position and is the lead commissioner on transportation. She has dedicated her career toward advancing clean energy technologies and cutting harmful pollution, with a focus on equity. Before joining the Energy Commission, she served as the transportation program director at the Energy Foundation, where she guided campaigns across the United States that advanced electric transportation and more efficient vehicles. She worked for the Union of Concerned Scientists in several roles, including director of the California office and deputy director of clean vehicles. She also worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and several energy-related consulting firms.
Commissioner Monahan received a bachelor of science degree from UC Berkeley and holds a master’s degree in energy analysis and policy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Liane M. Randolph
Introductory Remarks + Living Room Chat: Lightning In A Bottle: The Future Of Electric Vehicles And The Grid:
How California’s Policymakers are Ensuring an Equitable Transition:
Liane Randolph has spent most of her career in public service, specializing in environmental law and policy, effective administration, and a commitment to transparency and public process. She was appointed Chair of the California Air Resources Board by Governor Gavin Newsom in December 2020. Starting in 2015, Randolph served six years as a Commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission and managed numerous decisions on energy efficiency, integrated energy resource planning, and regulation of transportation network companies, as well as spearheading significant Commission policy reforms.
Prior to the PUC, Randolph served from 2011 to 2014 as Deputy Secretary and General Counsel at the California Natural Resources Agency, where she worked on a wide variety of legal and policy issues, including work on the Klamath Dam Removal agreement, CEQA guidelines, and the Agency’s first Tribal Consultation Policy. Randolph’s first role with the State was as Chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission from 2003 to 2007. Her work at the state level builds on experience with local government that she gained while practicing municipal law as a contract City Attorney for the Cities of San Leandro and Suisun City. Randolph earned a juris doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
Kevin de León
In the course of a remarkable career, Kevin de León has been an educator, activist, community organizer, and the first Latino leader of the California State Senate in 130 years. For the last decade, Kevin represented Senate District 24, which overlaps a significant portion of our city council district.
Prior to joining the Los Angeles City Council, Kevin was a professor, senior analyst, and distinguished policymaker-in-residence at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs; as well as a Distinguished Fellow for Climate, Environmental Justice and Health with the USC Schwarzenegger Instituted at the University of Southern California.
Kevin de León was elected to the California State Senate in 2010, and in 2014 he was elected by his colleagues to lead the Senate, making him the first Latino to serve as President pro Tempore in over a century. Before his election to the Senate, Kevin served four years in the State Assembly.
During his time as President pro Tempore of the California State Senate, Kevin led the 40-member body to historic accomplishments to improve the lives of Californians, the state's environment, and economy for decades to come. Kevin secured more than $68 million to revitalize the Los Angeles River, $176 million to clean up toxic waste around the former Exide Technologies facility, funding for more than a dozen new parks, and $26 million to complete the Los Angeles State Historic Park. He appropriated tens of millions of dollars to make Los Angeles schools more energy-efficient through Prop 39, bringing relief to city taxpayers. Kevin also authored Proposition 68, to keep drinking water clean and open new parks throughout the state. As author of Proposition 2, he secured the largest financial investment to build permanent supportive housing for Californians experiencing homelessness, especially in Los Angeles.
Prior to being elected to public office, Kevin worked as a community organizer and also as a teacher, teaching English as a Second Language and U.S. Citizenship. Working for the National Education Association and the California Teachers Association, Kevin advocated to improve funding for schools in low-income neighborhoods, modernize school facilities, and expand health insurance for children. He fought schemes to take funds from public schools through taxpayer-funded vouchers and academic censorship in public schools.
Kevin is the son of a single, immigrant mother, who supported her family working as a house-keeper, among other jobs. Kevin was the first in his family to graduate from high school and college. He attended U.C. Santa Barbara and graduated from Pitzer College with honors.
Hannon Rasool
Hannon Rasool is the deputy director of the California Energy Commission’s Fuels and Transportation Division.
Rasool, who joined the Energy Commission in July 2020, has more than 10 years of experience in the energy industry in the regulated utility space. He has an extensive background in regulatory affairs and electric vehicle infrastructure. Rasool’s work focused on clean transportation, renewable energy, energy storage, net energy metering, and zero-emission technologies.
Rasool graduated from the University of Iowa in 2002 with a business degree. In 2005, he graduated from the California Western School of Law. Rasool is an active member of the California State Bar. He enjoys backpacking, camping, and spending time with family and friends.
Reynaldo Gonzalez
Connecting to MHD Electric Transportation R&D Presentation:
With over 36 years of engineering experience Rey has been with the California Energy Commission (CEC) for 14 years, supporting transportation research and leading a team that has contributed in countless efforts to advance vehicle technologies beneficial to California’s clean energy goals. Rey’s previous engineering experience in the private sector includes product manufacturing, testing, and validation that was instrumental in developing the CEC’s transportation research agenda.
Rohit Shukla
Rohit K. Shukla is the Chief Executive Officer at Larta, and an expert and leader in innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship across several industry sectors. He is the chief architect of Larta’s NIH CAP program. As such, he has designed and created much of the program content, the tracks, the deliverables and the monitoring of company performance. He has personally mentored over 20 CAP participants, and has worked with hundreds of startups and more established entrepreneurs in his 31 year career.
In addition to NIH’s CAP, he has also designed Larta’s offerings in similar programs for NSF, USDA, NIST and DARPA. Governments overseas have turned to him to design commercialization programs, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Romania, Serbia, Taiwan and the UAE. The impact of these programs has been acknowledged, including substantial increases in external financial support for publicly-funded innovations, acquisitions and new transactional relationships established between various players brought together in the programs. He has also designed innovative approaches to technology transfer that seek to “bundle” innovative research concepts Rohit in alignment with industry and sectorial developments. He has spoken at several NIH National SBIR conferences and several multi-agency national SBIR conferences. He has also keynoted and spoken at scores of events.
Adrian Tylim
Creating California's Advanced Lithium Battery Ecosystem:
Adrian Tylim is responsible for driving the US and America’s market at Blue Solutions, a Bolloré company. He has broad experience with renewable energy technologies as an engineer, designer, project and business developer. He was part of NASA’s space station solar power module team, worked on various California wind energy projects, and was responsible for business development for a leading German solar engineering firm. As a sustainability champion, he designed a solution to eliminate landfills and economically produce renewable energy from waste. He also teaches MBA students Sustainable Business Strategies. He earned a MS in Energy Systems Engineering from the University of Arizona and a BS in Applied Physics from California State University.
AK Srouji
Pushing the Boundary on High Efficiency Charging Components and Systems:
Dr. AK Srouji is an expert in electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices. He serves as Romeo Power’s Chief Technology Officer, directing all technical activities, including product development, technology roadmap and IP strategy. He is highly dedicated to developing electrochemical systems in order to replace incumbent combustion technology, one after the other. Prior to joining Romeo Power, AK was developing advanced battery models, battery cells and systems at Robert Bosch’s Research & Technology Center in Silicon Valley. Throughout his energy technology career, he has successfully brought to market multiple lithium-ion and fuel cell programs funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
AK holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a PhD in Energy & Mineral Engineering with a focus on electrochemistry from The Pennsylvania State University.
Andrew Papson
Utility-facilitated Customer Adoption Efforts:
Andrew Papson is an Advisor in the eMobility group of Southern California Edison, dedicated to accelerating the deployment electric trucks and buses. His work in the Charge Ready Transport program contributes to SCE's goal of building deploying over 200,000 EV trucks and buses by 2030.
Andrew's role focuses on building partnerships with industry and agency stakeholders in truck and bus sectors. Through coordination with public sector partners, establishing industry working groups, and participating in industry events, Andrew is a conduit for engaging stakeholders in how to partner on large EV infrastructure projects and socializing information on technology and market readiness.
Andrew has deep experience in electric vehicles, truck and bus fleet operations, and the environmental impacts of transportation. His career has included transit fleet management, environmental consulting and clean transportation nonprofit work.
Angie Slaughter
Angie Slaughter is a VP of Sustainability, Logistics, SVC and Capabilities Procurement at Anheuser-Busch. During Angie’s time with the company – spanning over 20 years – she has held several roles within operations and procurement dedicated to driving transformational change to ensure Anheuser-Busch remains an industry-leader in sustainability. Angie received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois and is a licensed Professional Engineer.
Chris White
Since 2005, Chris has led communications, outreach and marketing for Frontier Energy’s transportation projects. She and her team have created some of the most-used outreach materials about zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure, including an award-winning social media campaigns, a software system for hydrogen stations, and a comedic series on the website FunnyorDie.com. She’s well versed in addressing regulatory, social, and economic issues around new technologies and changes in behavior.
For most of her career, she created communications strategies for new technology products and was a spokesperson for IBM. Chris is an active volunteer in West Sacramento and Yolo County, and has a passion for advancing women in leadership, particularly in energy, transportation, and the environment.
Elena Krieger
Breakout Session 1.3: Advancing Equitable Building Decarb in California:
Addressing Emissions in California’s Transportation Corridor Communities:
Dr. Elena Krieger is the Director of Research at the energy science and policy research institute Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE). She joined PSE in 2013 to launch the organization’s clean energy practice area, and now oversees its scientific research efforts. Her current work focuses on accelerating the transition to clean energy resources, and developing transition pathways that realize health, environment, equity, and resilience co- benefits. She simultaneously works closely with community organizations, non-profits, policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders to use science to inform energy policy.
Dr. Krieger’s recent and ongoing research areas include solar + storage resilience hubs; integration of health, equity, and environmental metrics into state-level deep decarbonization strategies; sociodemographic trends of solar adoption; and identification of opportunities to replace peaker power plants with energy storage. She is a member of the Disadvantaged Communities Advisory Group to the California Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission, and a member of the National Academies’ New Voices in Science, Engineering and Medicine Program 2021 Cohort. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from Princeton, where her research focused on optimizing energy storage in renewable systems and holds an AB in Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics from Harvard.
Jesse Bennett
Pushing the Boundary on High Efficiency Charging Components and Systems:
Jesse Bennett is a Research Engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado and has worked extensively on the intersection of the utility industry and transportation, supporting fleet electrification and research on the impact EV charging will have on the grid. Jesse studied electrical engineering at Bucknell University and prior to his current position at NREL, served as a standards and specifications engineer at Duquesne Light, the electric distribution utility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Jessica Golden
Creating California's Advanced Lithium Battery Ecosystem:
Realizing the Lithium Valley Vision through Technology Innovation:
Dr. Golden is a renewables-focused chemist with a background in applied molecular design. She earned her doctorate researching the design of materials for organic photovoltaics and organic light-emitting diodes. Today, she leverages her experience to solve materials problems in batteries, with the goal of accelerating the electrification of transportation and enabling the deployment of renewables on the grid.
Jigar Shah
Pushing the Boundary on High Efficiency Charging Components and Systems:
Jigar is the Manager for Distributed Energy and Grid Services at Electrify America. Jigar is responsible for optimizing Electrify America’s energy portfolio, including managing rate structures, leveraging energy storage to manage exposure to demand charges, engaging with utilities and wholesale energy markets, as well as addressing vehicle-grid integration matters. Jigar has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, with a minor in Business, from Cornell University, and a Master of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University. Prior to his role at Electrify America, Jigar was a Principal Consultant within the Energy and Utilities Practice at West Monroe Partners, where he advised utility clients on smart grid modernization topics, including rate structures and the use of energy storage to defer utility distribution investments.
Previous to this, Jigar was a Senior Researcher at Envision Energy focused on wind farm (plant level) controls and analytics to lower the levelized cost of renewable energy, and an Edison Engineer at General Electric Global Research focused on wind turbine control systems and distributed energy resource (“DER”) controls, including for electric vehicle fleet charging to minimize demand charge costs. Jigar has publications in prominent scientific journals including IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid and Wind Energy Science and has five filed patent applications on topics spanning electric vehicle charging, electric grid congestion, and wind energy control systems.
Jim O'Leary
Jim O’Leary is the Vice President of Fleet Services at NFI. Since joining NFI from Cardinal Logistics in 2009, Jim has held a variety of roles in IT, Transportation and Fleet. Most recently, Jim served as Director of Fleet Performance which gave him responsibility over NFI's fleet systems, telematics, analytics, fuel, and continuous improvement initiatives. While in the role, Jim led many successful projects that drove efficiencies in NFI's preventative maintenance program, fuel purchasing and vendor management. In 2017, Jim participated in NFI's Advanced Leadership Program, a yearlong course designed to identify and train NFI's next generation of Senior Leadership. This past year, Jim was assigned as project lead of NFI's electric mobility and artificial intelligence endeavors.
John Thomas
Addressing Emissions in California’s Transportation Corridor Communities:
John Thomas joined TA in March 2021, bringing over 30 years of blended experience in product engineering, operations and executive leadership to the company. His vast career experience includes time at Tesla Motors where he was selected to be the first Head of the Model S program and General Manager of its Michigan and future factory operations. John later founded and ran his own startup called ALTe Powertrain Technologies for over 5 years. Forbes magazine selected his startup to receive the “America’s Most Promising Companies” award. John also has served as a C level consultant for several client firms in the electric vehicle, vehicle to grid, charging infrastructure and cleantech industries based in China, the USA, Australia and the EU. John joins TravelCenters of America after serving most previously as Vice President, Operations at Toyoda Gosei.
John holds bachelor’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration from Lawrence Technological University, in addition to an MBA from Eastern Michigan University. He also has certifications in Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma. John was selected by Ernst & Young as one of the “EV100” a designation given to the most significant contributors to the global EV industry in 2012.
In his free time, John likes to stay fit by riding road and mountain bikes, playing golf, enjoying the outdoors and sharing quality time with his family. Additionally, John enjoys learning every day with a focus on sustainable solutions for the human race, while also indulging his Fast & Furious car enthusiasm—in a responsible way.
Jonathan Weisgall
The Lithium Valley Vision:
Jonathan Weisgall is Vice President for Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for Berkshire Hathaway Energy, formerly MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. He also serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies and president of the Geothermal Energy Association.
He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he has taught a seminar on energy issues since 1990, and he has also guest lectured on energy issues at Stanford Law School and the Johns Hopkins Environmental Science and Policy Program. Mr. Weisgall graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia College and from Stanford Law School, where he served on the Board of Editors of Stanford Law Review. He previously practiced law in Washington, D.C. at Covington & Burling, has written law review articles for Wisconsin Law Review and University of San Francisco Law Review, and has published articles in Legal Times, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, SAIS Review, and The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Joseph Gottlieb
Pushing the Boundary on High Efficiency Charging Components and Systems:
Joseph Gottlieb is the chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Rhombus Energy Solutions, where he leads the team developing next-generation power technologies for Rhombus EV chargers. Gottlieb is an expert in battery technology and BMS design; he holds 5 patents in different power control system areas. Prior to Rhombus, Gottlieb founded Flux Power, Inc., a lithium battery management technology company, and had executive and senior engineering positions at a variety of power and transportation-related companies. Joseph received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Northern Illinois University in Electrical Engineering. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with top honors.
Linda Gaines
Creating California's Advanced Lithium Battery Ecosystem:
Linda Gaines is an Environmental Scientist/Systems Analyst in Argonne National Laboratory’s Energy Systems division, where she examines energy use and the flow of materials and processes in the energy production cycle. She has written a series of handbooks assessing energy and material flows in petroleum refining, organic chemicals, and copper industries that provided background for studies of technical and institutional issues involved in recycling energy-intensive materials. Dr. Gaines has also examined the costs and impacts on energy use and the environment of production and recycling of advanced-design automobiles, trucks, trains, and batteries. More recently, her research has focused on analyzing process options for recycling of lithium-ion batteries.
Michelle Kinman
Michelle Kinman is LACI’s Director of Transportation, managing the Transportation Electrification Partnership, an unprecedented public-private partnership focused on accelerating transportation electrification and zero emissions goods movement in the greater Los Angeles region in advance of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Michelle came to LACI in 2018 with more than twenty years of experience—first internationally, then focusing on California—working to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Immediately prior to joining LACI, Michelle was the Clean Energy & Transportation Program Director for Environment California, working to advance an economy-wide shift to 100% renewable energy. In this role, she successfully helped to shape and pass numerous clean energy policies, including California’s historic SB 100, and coordinated the Charge Ahead California campaign, a joint effort of environmental and environmental justice organizations to ensure that California expands access to electric vehicles in low-income communities of color.
She was also a leader in the L.A. County Electric Bus Coalition, which secured commitments from LA Metro, the City of Los Angeles and City of Santa Monica to transition their bus fleets to electric by 2030. Michelle has a graduate certificate in Environmental Policy & Management from the University of Denver, and a BA in International Studies and Russian from Washington University in St. Louis. She was a finalist in the 2015 U.S. C3E Women in Energy Awards competition.
Morgan Caswell
Addressing Emissions in California’s Transportation Corridor Communities:
Morgan Caswell is the Manager of Air Quality Practices for the Port of Long Beach—the second busiest container seaport in the U.S. She leads the implementation of the San Pedro Bay 2017 Clean Air Action Plan Update, which includes aggressive zero-emissions goals for cargo handling equipment and heavy duty trucks, and bold new strategies to clean up ship emissions. Morgan is also responsible for ensuring the success of the Ports major air quality programs, including ship incentive programs and over $75 million in grant-funded technology advancement projects. Morgan holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Muffi Ghadilali
Optimizing Fleet Charging through Vehicle-to-Grid Integration:
Muffi Ghadiali is Founder and CEO of Electriphi, Inc a developer of EV fleet and energy management solutions. In his prior role, Mr. Ghadiali was Senior Director at ChargePoint and led product management for hardware and software for DC Fast Charging Solutions, focusing on high-speed DC charging infrastructure design and deployment. Mr. Ghadiali is an experienced product management leader, with previous roles at Amazon, OUYA, HP, and Synaptics. He is an adjunct lecturer at Stanford CSU and has received an MPhil in computer engineering.
Natasha Contreras
Utility-facilitated Customer Adoption Efforts:
Natasha Contreras is SDG&E’s Electric Vehicle Customer Engagement Manager, focused on generating awareness about the benefits of driving electric and building a pipeline of customers to participate in SDG&E’s infrastructure programs. Natasha’s team manages all the marketing, education and outreach efforts for SDG&E’s Clean Transportation programs, as well as engagement with stakeholders in the region to drive collaboration and innovation. Natasha is a San Diego native and holds a BS in Marketing and Communications from San Diego State University, as well as a master’s in project management from the University of Wisconsin. She has worked at SDG&E since 2009.
Rajit Gadh
During a visit to the Canadian Athabasca Glacier, Gadh was speaking to a local resident who informed him that if they were having the conversation 50 years earlier, they would be 50 meters higher - this resident had personally experienced the loss of permafrost on the glacier which was his home. This was a defining and pivotal moment for Gadh. Living in LA which had been impacted by smog, and growing up in Kolkata and Delhi, cities with some of the worst air quality in India, Gadh was growing increasingly convinced that tailpipe emissions were a significant part of the air quality problem globally whether it be in USA, Canada or India, and that zero emissions vehicles were a necessary part of the solution to improve air quality in urban areas.
His opportunity to make a difference came with a research project funded by US Department of Energy to work with LADWP on creating a Smart Microgrid in the UCLA campus by integrating electric vehicles, battery storage and solar panels. Professor Gadh’s team installed over a hundred electric vehicle (EV) chargers in UCLA and demonstrated how “smart charging” of EVs could enable substantial increase in solar thereby solving the well known “Solar Duck Curve” problem, and making EVs an asset rather than a liability for the grid. Also, his team demonstrated how EV batteries can be used as energy storage devices to provide grid backup power using vehicle-to-grid or V2G during power shut downs or power shortage such as during the current high fire season or hot summer days.
Rajit, along with key researchers at UCLA, decided to license the technology into a startup to take it commercial and thus was born MOEV (http://www.moevinc.com). Unfortunately, COVID struck, changing the way people drive cars, but the MOEV team saw an opportunity to service the anticipated fast growing home delivery marketplace of fleets - which MOEV predicted would grow - and the company pivoted. Now, MOEV’s A.I. based smart electric vehicle management system called MOEV AI™ is seeing rapidly growing interest from partners and customers in fleet operations and management, and the company is currently looking to raise a seed investment round to grow the business.
Professor Gadh insists that he is no entrepreneur, but, he hopes to bring deep knowledge of technology to his startup - a result of his years of education and experience in academia. He has a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), MS from Cornell University and a Bachelors from IIT Kanpur all in engineering. He has previously been a faculty member at University of Wisconsin-Madison, has taught at U.C. Berkeley as visiting faculty and been a visiting researcher at Stanford University. Dr. Gadh is author of over 200 articles in journals and conference proceedings and has several patents to his name. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He has received the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award, NSF Research Initiation Award, and, NSF-Lucent Industry Ecology Fellow Award, Society of Automotive Engineers Ralph R. Teetor Educational award, IEEE WTS second best student paper award, ASME Kodak Best Technical Paper award, AT&T Industrial ecology fellow award, Engineering Education Foundation Research Initiation Award, the William Mong Fellowship from University of Hong Kong, and other accolades in his career. He has lectured and given keynote/distinguished addresses worldwide in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Dubai, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, S. Korea, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and, Thailand.
Rustam Kocher
Rustam is the Transportation Electrification (TE) team manager at Portland General Electric (PGE), Oregon’s largest electric company. He and his team are responsible for operationalizing and scaling PGE’s electric transportation product portfolio. Prior to joining PGE, Rustam was a founding member of the E-Mobility Group at Daimler Trucks North America, building DTNA’s electric truck and charging offerings from the idea stage to reality. Rustam also leads the global Megawatt Charging System taskforce at CharIN, where over 120 companies, government labs and agencies are working together to standardize the MCS charging connector that will enable long-distance truck and bus travel. A self-described ‘EVangelist’, Rustam “drives on sunshine” by using the solar panels on his home to charge his two electric vehicles.
Scott Fisher
Optimizing Fleet Charging through Vehicle-to-Grid Integration:
Scott Fisher is Vice President of Fleets & OEMs at Greenlots where he helps fleet and OEM customers navigate their electrification journeys. Previously, Scott led Greenlots' eastern region market development efforts, focusing on building Greenlots’ business with governments, utilities, and automakers. Having spent more than 15 years prior to Greenlots at NRG Energy and Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) in market development, operations and strategy roles, Scott has a wealth of experience in scaling energy and electric transportation technologies. He received his MBA in Strategy and Finance from Yale School of Management and a BA in International Studies from Vassar College.
Scott Miller
Optimizing Fleet Charging through Vehicle-to-Grid Integration:
Scott is currently the head of fleet charging infrastructure sales for North America for ChargePoint. He has a dedicated team of EV charging experts reporting to him who help fleets, OEMs, fleet management companies, and others understand charging requirements and recommend the hardware and software configurations that best supports their needs. Scott, in this function, has worked with many fleets that required effective power management to reduce infrastructure and energy costs. Scott has been at ChargePoint for over 11 years and has held many different positions including head of Eastern sales, Head of Europe, Head of Sales Operations. He lives outside of Boston, MA with his family.
Stephane Fosso
Mr. Stephane Fosso is the Director, Fleet Technology at Sysco Corporation and he is leading Sysco new alternative fuel technology programs across the global enterprise primarily for over-the-road MHD vehicles, material handling equipment and its supporting refueling and charging infrastructure. Prior to joining Sysco, Mr. Fosso worked for the past 17 years in the automotive industry where he focusses on high voltage battery technologies, electric propulsion systems, advanced energy management and hybrid/electric vehicle development.
Tim Shannon
Learning from Early Adopters of MHD Fleet Electrification:
Tim Shannon was the first school Transportation Director to deploy the largest fleet of electric buses in the nation. Shannon is the recipient of several awards for promoting improved air quality through clean vehicles, collaborating with local, state agencies, a leader in adopting advanced technology, and expanding the knowledge of other school districts and the public. He serves as a Chair on the Leadership Committee for the National Association for Pupil Transportation, a member of the Electric Vehicle School Transportation Coalition and a member of the Student Pupil Transportation Advisory Committee overseen by the California Highway Patrol to advocate for Tim's 20 years as the President of profitable business in a photography lab assisted in building the foundation for his advanced technology knowledge.
Troy Musgrave
Learning from Early Adopters of MHD Fleet Electrification:
Troy is the Director of Process Improvement at DHE. He’s responsible for overseeing our transportation management system (TMS) and the ancillary applications that integrate with it. A big part of his day-to-day is data analytics and supporting operations of just about every department with challenges that relate to our TMS. He is also responsible for product and vendor review of hardware and software products that show potential value to our industry. A few examples include the smartphone our drivers use and telematic devices inside the trucks that communicate a lot of data, GPS locations and time dates. Another big part of his responsibility is to be the point of contact for new projects like Volvo LIGHTS and integrating these other products and vendors we’re trying to bring into our environment.
Yen Tran
Utility-facilitated Customer Adoption Efforts:
PG&E has developed several electric vehicle programs to support California’s ambitious climate and air quality goals. Today, Yen Tran, a PG&E Customer Onboarding Specialist, will be presenting on the PG&E EV Fleet Program. In her various roles at PG&E, she has supported Vegetation Management, New Business customers and now several of PG&E’s EV programs.
Registration is Now Closed
Registration for this event is now closed, however we encourage you to visit the California Energy Commission’s Epic Program Page to sign up for updates and learn about future events!