Virtual Fireside Chat Open to the Public

A wide range of new domestic and imported electric pickup trucks, SUVs and cars are coming onto the market.  Are the designs, features, performance and range put forward by automakers finally good enough to win over consumers and trigger the tipping point in electrification?  Or does the speed, convenience and availability of chargers, and scaling of the grid to power them, control the pace of adoption?  Or is it just a matter of price and tax incentives to get consumers to move?

The Inflation Reduction Act establishes big tax incentives for domestic production of EVs - and billions of dollars for upgrading the grid and expanding the EV charger infrastructure.  This infrastructure build-out is spurring innovations in charging for fleets, trucks, school buses, V2G, fast charging and even battery swapping and electrified roadways.  With EVs at more than 10% market share in some states, are we at the tipping point?  Or will broken chargers or long waits at overloaded charging stations frustrate consumers and derail this experiment?

There are many questions about what drives consumer attitudes and behavior.  Most EVs now have 300-mile range and support Level 3 fast charging: is range anxiety now a thing of the past?  There are many misconceptions about charging and EV owners’ behavior.  What business models work?   Don’t charging stations make money by just selling kilowatt hours like gas stations sell gallons of fuel?  What’s the role of electric utilities?

No one understands this better than Pat Romano, CEO of ChargePoint.  Pat has built ChargePoint to become the largest network of EV chargers in the country.  President Biden recently appointed Pat to serve on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC).  The Council advises the President of the United States on how to reduce physical and cyber risks, and improve the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure sectors.

We are fortunate to have MIT grad Pat Romano for a fireside chat with moderator Mark Platshon to share insights on the trends and misconceptions around the EV transformation.

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