Sean Ackley Head of Charging & Energy at VinFast spoke with MOVEMNT at the MOVE America conference about how the electric charging system has the potential to become a seamless and integrated experience.
Ackley proposes that electric vehicle (EV) charging shouldn’t be complex or difficult to understand, and it shouldn’t feel hard to find either.
He discusses how VinFast are working to remove the complexities of charging across the mobility ecosystem, meeting the people who are capable of making this possible at MOVE.
To do this, the company are integrating all of these different partners into a single app and have successfully integrated over 112,000 charge points to make charging infrastructure easier to find.
Aviation start-up ZeroAvia have announced that it has completed its Series C funding round at a total of $116m, including a $40 million backing from the UK Infrastructure Bank.
The fundraising round also received investments from co-leads Airbus, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital and Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Investment Fund with the round set to accelerate the company’s journey to clean propulsion technology, hydrogen-electric engine production and zero-emission flights.
The company hopes that the funding will help to support the UK’s status as a market leader in research and development in both aviation and hydrogen as well as ZeroAvia’s growth plans within the UK.
Val Miftakhov, Founder & CEO, ZeroAvia said:
“This backing by such a pre-eminent investor as the UK Infrastructure Bank will help us deliver the first commercial zero-emission flights, and help the UK realise substantial export potential.”
Aviation contributes the equivalent of more than 38 million tonnes of CO2 from international and domestic journeys starting and ending in the UK. Around a quarter of UK carbon emissions are predicted to come from aviation in 2050. This funding in an emission-free and clean energy aircraft could provide support to the Government’s target of decarbonising aviation by 2050.
The company believes that a sustainable hydrogen ecosystem will be crucial for net zero and is an area in which the UK Infrastructure Bank is keen to act as a market leader.
Ian Brown, Head of Banking & Investments at the UK Infrastructure Bank, said:
“Aviation and hydrogen are sectors that need significant private investment to get to net zero. By providing confidence to investors, our equity has helped to crowd in the private investment needed for the continued development of this cutting-edge technology and should help stimulate the development and deployment of hydrogen technology across other hard to decarbonise sectors.”
Nissan is making strides towards a zero emissions future with confirmation that all three models made at its UK plant will go 100% electric.
This means the EV36Zero hub in Sunderland will consist of three electric vehicles, three gigafactories and up to £3bn investment.
The project includes future all-electric versions of Nissan’s flagship Qashqai and JUKE crossovers, as well as plans for a third vehicle to begin in UK production, the Nissan LEAF.
Nissan President and CEO, Makoto Uchida, said:
“Electric vehicles are at the heart of our plans to achieve carbon neutrality. With electric versions of our core European models on the way, we are accelerating towards a new era for Nissan, for industry and for our customers. The EV36Zero project puts our Sunderland plant, Britain’s biggest ever car factory, at the heart of our future vision.”
Both vehicle and battery manufacturing will be powered by the EV36Zero Microgrid, which will incorporate the wind and solar farms at Nissan and will have the capability to deliver 100% renewable electricity to Nissan and its neighbouring suppliers.
UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:
“Nissan’s investment is a massive vote of confidence in the UK’s automotive industry, which already contributes a massive £71 billion a year to our economy. This venture will no doubt secure Sunderland’s future as the UK’s Silicon Valley for electric vehicle innovation and manufacturing.
“Making the UK the best place to do business is at the heart of our economic plan. We will continue to back businesses like Nissan to expand and grow their roots in the UK every step of the way as we make the right long term decisions for a brighter future.”
Ganesh Iyer the CEO of NIO USA spoke at the MOVE America conference about how NIO are innovating and transforming their company in order to challenge one of the biggest issues in the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) – range anxiety.
Iyer himself described NIO as a “pioneer in the smart EV industry” that was founded originally in 2014, boasting a design centre in Munich and in the Silicon Valley which Iyer leads himself as the company’s key innovation centre.
He also emphasised that “we are not a car company, we are a lifestyle brand” that holds user enterprise as its key interest. In this interview, Iyer also comments on his panel that he joined at the conference: “Circular batteries: how recycling programs are driving a sustainable battery ecosystem”. Iyer explains how the panel discussion turned to the obstacle of battery degradation and how this can be combatted.
He also mentioned NIO’s attempts at hurdling this obstacle via their power replenishment system, which allows users to charge, swap, or upgrade their depleted EV battery, giving a channelled focus on the innovation of the swapping system.
As the world anticipates the upcoming UN climate summit – COP28 – in Dubai, Nigeria has been making significant strides towards embracing electric mobility with a keen interest in commitment to a more sustainable and cleaner transport system.
Vice President of Nigeria Kashim Shettima emphasised this commitment as he inspected the solar-powered charging stations for e-mobility domiciled in the State House. He also highlighted Nigeria’s plans for an e-Mobility Strategy, designed to position the country as a front-runner in sustainable transportation on the African continent.
He said:
“e-Mobility deployment aligns with the Nigeria Energy Transition Plan (ETP), addressing emissions, air pollution, and energy security concerns while ensuring a greener future for Nigerians.”
Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) has reported that the transport sector is contributing 28.4% of emissions; with the ETP advocating for transitioning to low-emission transport technologies.
Nigeria’s federal government has actively announced support for this transition, which includes boosting local assembly capacity for electric vehicles, establishing charging infrastructure, and enabling private sector participation.
A South-American city in Brazil has been awarded as Smart City of 2023 at the World Smart City Awards gala held at Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC), by Fira de Barcelona.
The award intends to acknowledge the most outstanding initiatives and projects in the innovation and urban transformation industry.
The Brazilian city of Curitiba was reportedly chosen by the Jury for its approach to smart urban planning, socioeconomic growth and environmental sustainability through a human-centric approach.
The jury was made up of representatives from the Barcelona City Council, UN-Habitat, the World Bank, the EC Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities, the World Economic Forum, and the Secretariat of State for Tourism in Spain.
This year’s edition also included a special Leadership award in recognition to the continuing efforts to drive urban innovation internationally.
The Mobility award went to the Konya Metropolitan Municipality for its project to restore old streetcars in the city of Meram in Turkey to make them available exclusively to cyclists, with the aim of increasing bicycle awareness and developing a new transportation.
Kyle Vogt has announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he has decided to step down as the Chief Executive Officer of Cruise following backlash and halted operations over a recent hit-and-run accident involving a Cruise autonomous vehicle (AV).
San Francisco became the first US city this year to allow driverless taxis to transport passengers without the supervision of humans behind the wheel, as known as Level 4 AVs.
Vogt wrote on X that the “last 10 years have been amazing […] Cruise is still just getting started, and I believe it has a great future ahead,” adding that he is planning to spend time with his family and “explore some new ideas”.
There has been no officially named successor of the Chief Executive position, but Cruise have announced that its executive VP of engineering, Mo Elshenawy, would immediately assume the role as president and chief technology officer alongside Craig Glidden, who will serve as co-president as well as continuing in the role of chief administrative officer for the foreseeable future.
John Kuehn manager of transit partnerships at Uber discusses Uber’s mission for easier and more efficient transit across the US – even in transit deserts!
Kuehn discussed Uber’s endeavour to partner with cities and transit agencies to support and offer them additional services they might not have the powers to provide independently in transit.
He explains that Uber want to fill the gaps in the transit space where agencies might not be able to fulfil all of the rides they would like to.
Kuehn also mentions the return of Uber’s X Share service which would allow users to share rides with other users, which was banned during the pandemic.
Watch the full interview to hear more about Uber’s experience at MOVE America 2023 and what they had to say on their panel about “How equitable MaaS programs can become ladders of opportunity”.
Michele Mueller the senior project manager of connected and automated vehicles at Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) discusses how the state are employing innovative technology in their safety systems to ensure people get home safely every day.
Mueller also talks about how the department are working with new start-ups to help expand and develop Michigan’s transportation system as well as the opportunity to meet these exact types of start-ups at the MOVE America conference.
MDOT are developing their systems by looking at the challenges within the transport infrastructure and working with industry partners to find solutions to these challenges.
Mueller explains that the department’s goal to make their systems smarter, more efficient, and most importantly, to help people get home to their families as safely as possible.
Jason JonMichael a senior strategist at the United States Department of Transport (USDOT) discussed how AI and automated systems are impacting the way Americans get around.
As a member of the Highly Automated Safety Systems Centre of Excellence (HASS COE) JonMichael explained how his team have a duty to help USDOT by reviewing, assessing, and validating the safety of autonomous systems and AI in transportation. JonMichael stressed that this applies not only in ground autonomy and advanced air mobility but also across national rail systems and ports.
HASS COE was established by congress to focus on automation systems and investigate their intermodal and multimodal implications, to help augment each USDOT Operating Administration’s own expertise and enable success in assessing, predicting, and verifying the safety of relevant emerging technology.
JonMichael also commented on the amount of funding that the Biden-Harris administration has recently provided to US transport systems and stated that it is “the shotgun start” US transport infrastructure needs.
Watch the full interview to hear more about how US transport is adopting and adapting to ever-developing technology and if we should be happy with this.
BMW have announced that Level 3 automated driving, which allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel and temporarily divert their attention away from the road, will soon be available in the new BMW 7 Series as of next spring.
Designed to assume the entire task of driving, the automated driving function will be offered exclusively in Germany priced at €6,000.
This means that German driver will be legally allowed to use this autonomous vehicle system on German roads in 2024.
BMW Personal Pilot L3is the name of the new self-driving function which will enable the driver to go fully autonomous and remove their hands from the wheel in certain situations.
This new function can be ordered for the new BMW 7 Series (excluding the i7 eDrive50 and i7 M70 xDrive) from December to be fitted in vehicles from next March.
The technology allows drivers to redirect their focus to other in-vehicle activities when travelling at up to 60 km/h (37 mph) on motorways with structurally separated carriageways.
The announcement of this function will make BMW Group the first carmaker to offer both Level 2 driving function where the hands can be taken off the steering wheel and a Level 3 system.
The crucial difference between Level 2 and Level 3 is that with Level 2 (partially automated driving) responsibility continues to lie with the driver at all times. Whenever the BMW Highway Assistant is in use, drivers must watch what is happening on the road and be able to take over the task of driving again at all times.
The BMW Personal Pilot L3 for Level 3 highly automated driving in the BMW 7 Series gives drivers the option of concentrating on secondary in-vehicle activities away from what is happening on the road.
Brice Adamson President of Enterprise Fleet Management spoke recently at the MOVE America conference about how EFM enabled Domino’s Pizza to deploy 1,100 electric vehicles (EVs) as part of their delivery fleet.
With a mission to maximise fleet performance and mitigate financial risk with their predictive tools and technology, Enterprise’s analytics software offers real-time cost and performance insights that consider their client’s fleet mileage, insurance costs, driver downtime, vehicle depreciation and more.
Adamson stated that the company begin by learning their client’s objectives and goals and then use their software to help to advise on which fleet best suits them achieve those specific targets.
In a real-life example, Domino’s Pizza told the fleet management company that they wanted to reach zero-emissions in their pizza delivery fleet by 2050, after which Adamson explained that EFM recommended the fully-electric Chevrolet Bolt to put those 1,100 vehicles on the road in just one year.
Watch the full interview to learn more about where EFM are headed towards in helping fleet operations achieve their sustainability goals more efficiently and where they’ll be expanding their services to.
In the King’s Speech yesterday a new piece of legislation was announced which intends to enable the use of autonomous vehicles (AV) in Britain.
The supposedly long-awaited legislation was passed as the Automated Vehicles Bill and will see level 4 self-driving vehicles be valid for use on British roads.
During the speech the King said: “My Ministers will introduce new legal frameworks to support the safe commercial development of emerging industries, such as self-driving vehicles…”
The Government has said that the bill will provide the sector with the certainty and confidence it needs to develop the technology in the UK.
The landmark legislation was announced in the Lords Chamber by the King in a speech that is historically drafted by the Prime Minister, this year falling to the responsibility of Rishi Sunak.
A briefing document from Number 10 stated that the bill It will release a huge growth potential of this sector and potentially allow Britain to create a UK market of up to £42 billion and create 38,000 skilled jobs by 2035.
Between 2018 and 2022, the UK self-driving vehicle sector generated £475 million of direct investment and 1,500 new jobs, according to the government’s report.
Cllr Darren Rodwell, Transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said:
“Autonomous Vehicles have potential to dramatically improve people’s quality of life, especially in areas where bus services struggle to support them.
“Councils will continue to prioritise safety and public health, regardless of mode of travel.
“Government also needs to act to help pedestrians and road users by regulating the estimated 750,000 private e-scooters already on our roads, the majority of which are used illegally and by banning pavement parking, which would make footpaths accessible to all parts of society.”
Only the vehicles that can drive themselves safely and can follow all road traffic rules without the need for a human to monitor the vehicle to maintain safety will be classified as self-driving and allowed on UK roads.
Companies that deploy AVs will have to meet safety requirements from the point a vehicle is introduced on to UK roads or face new sanctions and penalties if they fail in their duty. These will include fines, requirements to take corrective action, and suspension of operation.
BYD has has entered a hybrid system agreement with Korean car manufacturer KG Mobility (KGM).
KGM specialise in manufacturing 4x4s, SUVs, MPVs and pick-up trucks and have partnered with the electric vehicle (EV) leader as part of their announcement on the launch of the Torres EVX.
This agreement will see battery packs produced in Korea integrated into the Torres EVX and KGM’s new BEV pick-up, which is scheduled for mass production in the second half of 2024.
KGM’s CEO, Jeong Yong-won, said:
“By expanding the line-up of eco-friendly vehicles through cooperation with BYD for the joint development of next-generation hybrids, KG Mobility has laid a strong foundation for more stable growth.”
Before the agreement, researchers from both companies had already begun joint development of hybrid system with plans to expand its lineup, starting with a Torres-based hybrid model in 2025.
Additionally, there are plans to concurrently develop plug-in hybrids. In this regard, a restructuring of the research institute was recently completed to bolster electric vehicle development capabilities and ensure success in hybrid development.
Chairman Kwak Jae-seon of KG Mobility said:
“We anticipate that this expanded co-operation with BYD will strengthen our electric vehicle lineup, including the Torres EVX, KR10, and F100, while re-organising our product range to focus on eco-friendly vehicles. This includes introducing a dedicated electric vehicle platform and launching hybrid products.”
Watch the first keynote panel that kicked off in the keynote theatre on the morning of day one at the MOVE America 2023 conference in Austin, Texas. The panel is joined by the stop speakers and disruptors that attended the event who came together to discuss how the tech-mobility space is revolutionising and what its future looks like, or could look like. Watch the full session below.
Watch this keynote panel discussion from day one of MOVE America 2023 joined by the top players in the EV charing space. This conversation surrounds the main barriers in EV adoption for the American population and how the lack of charging infrastructure might be affecting this. Watch the full video below to hear what these experts have to say about the issue and how it will effect America’s clean energy transition.
How long do you think it will be until the cars on the roads will have no drivers? Will autonomous vehicles become the norm in the next few years? Or longer? Watch this keynote discussion from day one of MOVE America 2023 on the growth of autonomous vehicles in the tech-mobility space and how companies are embracing this trending mode of transportation.
This day one keynote panel from MOVE America 2023 discusses how we can accelerate change within the mobility ecosystem through collaboration and innovation. Joined by some of the top names in mobility, watch the full keynote discussion below.
This keynote discussion is from day two of the MOVE America 2023 in Austin, Texas, and follows a conversation about the layers of the supply chain in the tech-mobility space. With bold statements from mobility’s most credible sources, this panel also includes a heavily debated estimation of when cars will become fully electrified. Watch the full video to hear the panel’s predictions.
