Building Better with Brandon Bartneck (formerly Future of Mobility) is focused on the people, products, and companies that are creating a better tomorrow, often in the transportation and manufacturing sectors.
I aim to have real, human conversations to explore what these leaders and innovators are doing, why and how they’re doing it, and what we can learn from their experiences. If you care about making an impact then this show might be for you.
Topics include manufacturing, production, assembly, autonomous driving, electric vehicles, hydrogen and fuel cells, impact, leadership, and more.
Presented by Edison Manufacturing and Engineering, your contract manufacturing partner for flexible and reliable assembly of complex mobility and mobility-related products. Hosted by Brandon Bartneck.
Episodes come out every week and typically include an interview with leaders in the industry from established OEMs, suppliers, start-ups, government agencies, and more. The podcast has run continuously since early 2020.
Listen on:
Apple Podcasts: link
Spotify: link
#230 – Santosh Kottalgi | Ansys – Simulation for Improved NVH Performance – Show notes: link
#229 – Tim Noonan | Evertrak – Sustainable Railroad Ties & Making a Positive Impact – Show notes: link
#228 – Dr. Robert Prucka | Clemson Deep Orange – Real Project Experience for Future Automotive Engineers – Show notes: link
#227 – Broc TenHouten | Intrinsic Power – A Better Level 2 Charger & Improved Energy Management for EV Charging – Show notes: link
#226 – Andy Bennett | EVolve (Vontier) – Energy Management for Scaling EV Charging Infrastructure – Show notes: link
#225 – Billy Evers | Hesai Technology – Reliable & High-Performance LiDAR for Autonomous Driving – Show notes: link
#224 – Nikita Bridan | Oilstainlab – Impactful Automotive Design & A Car for Maniacs– Show notes: link
#223 – Better Problem Solving to Improve our Transportation Ecosystem – Show notes: link
#222 – Yaron Saghiv | UVeye – Automated Vehicle Inspection, AI & Predictive Maintenance – Show notes: link
#221 – Jeffrey Kinsey | EverCharge – The Importance of L2 Charging for EV Fleets & Robust Product Design – Show notes: link
#220 – Barry Jones | Provizio – Commercializing an Innovative Mobility Technology & 4D Imaging Radar – Show notes: link
#219 – Quincy Lee | Electric Era – Reliably Scaling a High-Performance Charging Business – Show notes: link
#218 – Glenn Sommerville | High Performance Leadership, Successful Product Launches & How to Trust but Verify – Show notes: link
#217 – Common Pitfalls that Prevent New Technology Implementation – Show notes: link
#216 – Bob Purcell | Purcell Advisory Group – Launching the EV-1, Low Volume Production & First Principles – Show notes: link
#215 – How to Improve Our Transportation Ecosystem – Show notes: link
#214 – Martin Cardell – EY | Driving Innovation in Products, Business Models, and Customer Understanding – Show notes: link
#213 – Alex Roy | Making Sense of the EV/AV Chaos, Effective Strategy & Learning from History – Show notes: link
#212 – Richard Hawwa | Nomura Greentech – 10 Key Questions to Prepare for a Growth Capital Raise – Show notes: link
#211 – Ian Rust | Revoy – Reducing Long Haul Cost per Mile with a Novel Hybridized Approach – Show notes: link
#210 – Chris Borroni-Bird – How the Developed World Can Learning from the Developing World for a Better Mobility Future – Show notes: link
#209 – Jason Marks | TELO – Purpose Built Electric Trucks for Urban Environments & Intentionally Building a Culture – Show notes: link
#208 – Michael Granoff | Maniv – Chinese EVs, The End of “Mobility” & Finding the Right Investments – Show notes: link
#207 – Andy Marsh | Plug Power – The Pace and Steps Required to Transition to a Hydrogen Economy – Show notes: link
#206 – Isaac Holeman & Tarani Duncan | Croft – Rural Decarbonization, Novel Hydrogen Storage & Rugged Hydrogen Vehicles – Show notes: link
#205 – Matt Markel | Spartan Radar – The Reality of Road Safety & Improving Spatial Resolution for Radar – Show notes: link
#204 – John McElroy Round 2 | Autoline – Peak Auto & Disrupting the Automotive Industry – Show notes: link
#203 – Rakesh Koneru | HummingbirdEV – Microfactories, EV Retrofits & Building a New Heavy Duty EV OEM – Show notes: link
#202 – Laura Fox | Streetlife Ventures – Improving Urban Life and Mobility – Show notes: link
#201 – Desmond Wheatley | Beam Global – Off-Grid, Scalable Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure – Show notes: link
#200 – Chris Wallbank | Wallbank Industrial – Impact through Manufacturing & Pursuing a Clear Vision – Show notes: link
#199 – Timothy Papandreou | ETA – The Purpose of Mobility, Systems Thinking & Reimagining Transportation – Show notes: link
#198 – Roxana Bekemohammadi | United States Hydrogen Alliance – Technology Diversity & A True Push for Sustainability – Show notes: link
#197 – Olaf Sakkers | RedBlue Capital – Why our Transportation System is Broken and How to Disrupt It – Show notes: link
#196 – Edwin Olson | May Mobility – The Capital-Efficient Path to Ending Personal Car Ownership – Show notes: link
#195 – Beth Brooke | VERITY NOW – Gender-Inclusive Vehicle Safety Standards – Show notes: link
#194 – Ameya Joshi | MobilityNotes & ClearFlame – Decarbonizing the Existing Vehicle Fleet & Renewable Fuels – Show notes: link
#193 – Grayson Brulte | SAE Tomorrow Today – The Path(s) to Commercial Adoption for Autonomous Vehicles – Show notes: link
#192 – Andrea Klein | Rand Technologies – Overcoming the Greatest Supply Chain Risks – Show notes: link
#191 – Stefan Tongur | Electreon Round 2 – The Path to Widespread Wireless Charging – Show notes: link
#190 – Stan Sewitch | Building an Engaged and Positive Culture – Show notes: link
#189 – Lior Tal | Cyngn – Autonomous Vehicle Solutions for Industrial Fleets & Bringing an AV Product to Market – Show notes: link
#188 – 2023 Year in Review – Show notes: link
#187 – Prescott Watson | Port Power – Smart Power & Optimized EV Charging Infrastructure – Show notes: link
#186 – Daniel Barel Round 2 | REE – Bringing a New EV and the REEcorner to the Market – Show notes: link
#185 – Josh Green | Inspiration Mobility – Accelerating Fleet Transitions to Electric Vehicles – Show notes: link
#184 – Alex Meek | Moxion Power – Mobile Battery Energy Storage Systems – Show notes: link
#183 – Daniel Trepanier | Arcadia Tractor – Autonomy, Field Robotics & Learning through Real-world Deployments – Show notes: link
#182 – Jesse Henry | Heartland – Sustainable Material Innovation in Automotive – Show notes: link
#181 – Kelly Senecal | Life Cycle Analysis Sins, E-fuels, Decarbonization & Our Eclectric Future – Show notes: link
#180 – Sam Shapiro | Grounded – Electric Outdoor Recreation, 250-Mile Range in an EV Campervan & a Scrappy Startup – Show notes: link
#179 – BJ Birtwell | Electrify Expo – The Premier EV Festival & Selling to the Masses – Show notes: link
#178 – Carter Li | SWTCH – Effective EV Charging Solutions for Multifamily & Commercial Properties – Show notes: link
#177 – Matt Soule | Parallel System – The Future of Freight Rail with Electric & Autonomous Vehicles – Show notes: link
#176 – Milan Kocic | Hexagon – Innovation, Start-up Acceleration & Sixth Sense – Show notes: link
#175 – Grace Donnelly | Climate Tech VC – Climate Tech Funding Trends, Marine Decarbonization & Fuels – Show notes: link
#174 – Nils Alstad & Torkel Danielsson | Phantom Auto – Latency, Remote Driving, Forklifts & More – Show notes: link
#173 – Vinay Shet | Teleo – Autonomy & Remote Operation for Heavy Equipment – Show notes: link
#172 – Kerry Renaud | WHILL – Autonomous Personal Mobility & Accessibility – Show notes: link
#171 – Corey Clothier | ARIBO – Effective AV Deployments & The Current State of AV Tech – Show notes: link
#170 – Larry Burns | Accessibility, Mass, Speed & The Keys to a Safer Future – Show notes: link
#169 – Dakota Semler | Xos – Electric Trucks, Charging Infrastructure & Fleet Electrification – Show notes: link
#168 – Quincy Lee | Electric Era – Meeting Growing Energy Demands & Above the Grid Charging – Show notes: link
#167 – Allen Schaeffer | Diesel Technology Forum – Diesel as a Critical Piece of our Transportation Future – Show notes: link
#166 – Marc Buncher | Siemens Mobility – The Role of Rail for More Sustainable & Effective Movement of Goods & People – Show notes: link
#165 – Siyu Huang | Factorial Energy – Solid State Batteries & The Journey to Scale a Game Changing Technology – Show notes: link
#164 – Scott Davidson | Revolv – Effective & Intelligent Fleet EV Adoption – Show notes: link
#163 – Jake Hall | The Manufacturing Millennial – Technology & Education for the Future of Automotive Manufacturing – Show notes: link
#162 – Raj Iyer & Jason Coffman | Deloitte – Risk Mitigation & Electrification Strategies for Automotive Suppliers – Show notes: link
#161 – Josh Berg | Magna Technology Investments – Leadership, Navigating a Corporate Career & Growing a Start-up – Show notes: link
#160 – Tyler Cole | Net Zero Carbon – ESG & True Sustainability for Freight and Logistics – Show notes: link
#159 – Gavin Jackson | Oxa – The Operating System for Autonomy & The Best Applications for Self-Driving – Show notes: link
#158 – Francesca Favarò | Waymo – Safety for Automated Driving Systems & Waymo’s Approach to Safety – Show notes: link
#157 – Michael Wiesinger | Kodiak Robotics – The Path to Commercialization for Autonomous Long-Haul Trucking – Show notes: link
#156 – Gene Berdichevsky | Sila – Deploying Silicon Anodes at Scale for Next Generation Automotive Batteries – Show notes: link
#155 – Don Wright | Unico – Testing for Batteries, E-Motor, Inverter, E-Axle, and E-Powertrains – Show notes: link
#154 – Charles Eagan | BlackBerry – Cybersecurity, BlackBerry’s Transformation & The Future of Automotive Software – Show notes: link
#153 – Julie Johnson | Volta Trucks – Electric Medium Duty Trucks & Making an Impact through Decarbonization – Show notes: link
#152 – Christian Delise | Effective UX for Automated Driving & Truly Sustainable Design – Show notes: link
#151 – Richard Morin | Resonant Link – Overcoming the Traditional Challenges of Wireless Charging – Show notes: link
#150 – Jennifer Dungs | EIT InnoEnergy – Holistic Climate Tech Investment, The Importance of Vehicle Efficiency & The 15-minute City – Show notes: link
#149 – Angus Pacala | Digital LiDAR, Merging with Velodyne & Why LiDAR Is the Best Sensor for Machine Vision – Show notes: link
#148 – Jeff Varick | Brandmotion – Vehicle Safety, Vision Zero Automotive Network, & The Importance of the Aftermarket for Safety – Show notes: link
#147 – Peter Vaughan Schmidt | Torc Robotics – Autonomous Trucking & Playing Offense in a Dynamic Macroeconomic Environment – Show notes: link
#146 – Roei Ganzarski | Alitheon – Optical AI for Identification and Authentication of Batteries & More – Show notes: link
#145 – Stephan Tarnutzer | AVL – The State of Electrification, Automated Driving & Hydrogen, Plus the Importance of Soft Skills as a Leader – Show notes: link
#144 – Matt Leuck | Neste – Renewable Diesel & The Critical Task of Decarbonizing the Internal Combustion Engine – Show notes: link
#143 – Reece Martin | RMTransit – City Transit & Evolving the Way We Get Around – Show notes: link
#142 – Ben Hager | dSPACE – Tools for Developing and Validating Autonomous Driving Solutions – Show notes: link
#141 – Charlotte Hamilton | Conamix – Unlocking the Potential of Lithium Sulfur Cathodes – Show notes: link
#140 – Rodolfo Elias Dieck | Proeza Ventures – Building On Grupo Proeza, Key Trends for 2023 & Philosophy – Show notes: link
#139 – Jan Becker | Apex.AI – Modular, Scalable Software for Autonomy and Software Defined Vehicles – Show notes: link
#138 – Steven Spinello | Skyports – AAM Infrastructure & The Reality of AAM as a Transportation Solution – Show notes: link
#137 – Paul Comfort – Conversations on Equity and Inclusion in Public Transportation & Trends for 2023 – Show notes: link
#136 – Khaled Fakhuri & Mike Doucleff | Schneider Electric – EV Charging Solutions & Innovation on the Edge – Show notes: link
#135 – 2022 Year in Review – Show notes: link
#134 – Chris and Melissa Bruntlett – Urban Vitality, Dutch Cycling & The Human Case for Fewer Cars – Show notes: link
#133 – Niklas Reinedahl | Einride – Improving Freight Efficiency with Digital then Electric and then Autonomous-Electric Vehicle Deployments – Show notes: link
#132 – Ali Javidan | Range Energy – Electric Trailers, Empathy, & Practical Decarbonization for Trucking – Show notes: link
#131 – Jannet Walker-Ford | WSP USA – Equitable Transportation & Deploying Effective Transit Solutions – Show notes: link
#130 – Brendan Riley | GreenPower – Electric Buses, Shuttles & Vans – Decarbonizing the Low-Hanging Fruit – Show notes: link
#129 – Jay Collins | WEX – Intelligent EV Deployments for Fleets & Simplifying the Business of Running a Business – Show notes: link
#128 – Nathan King & Tiya Gordon – itselectric | An Effective Level 2 Charging Solution for Cities and Street Parking – Show notes: link
#127 – Bibhrajit Halder | SafeAI – Autonomous Heavy Equipment for Mining and Construction Applications – Show notes: link
#126 – Ryan Green | Gridwise – Serving Drivers, Data for the Gig Economy & Evolving as a Leader – Show notes: link
#125 – Chris Helsel | Goodyear – Innovation, Sustainability & Evolving a Well-known, Established Brand – Show notes: link
#124 – Leif Babin | Echelon Front – Extreme Ownership, Influence & Effective Decision Making for Mobility Leaders – Show notes: link
#123 – David Roberts | Verra Mobility – Smart Mobility as a Means for Safer and More Effective Transportation – Show notes: link
#122 – Graham Doorley | Solo AVT – Electric Trucks with 500 Miles of Range and an Optional Driver – Show notes: link
#121 – James Breyer | Hercules – Electric Boats, Modular Propulsion Systems & Pivoting – Show notes: link
#120 – David Welch | Charging Ahead – Electrification, Automation & Positioning GM for the Future – Show notes: link
#119 – Kevin Mull | Bosch – Automated Parking and the Detroit Smart Parking Lab – Show notes: link
#118 – Kent Robinson | Dover Fueling Solutions – Fuel Dispensing and Distribution for Gasoline, Diesel, and Hydrogen – Show notes: link
#117 – Grace Donnelly | Emerging Tech Brew – Supply Chain and Infrastructure for EVs, Carbon Capture & Covering Climate Tech – Show notes: link
#116 – Todd Rome | Moke America – Electric Low Speed Vehicles & Rebuilding an Icon – Show notes: link
#115 – Tim Slusser | Detroit’s Office of Mobility Innovation – Sustainable Deployments of Innovative Mobility Technology – Show notes: link
#114 – Derek Caveney | Toyota – ADAS and ADS Systems Designed with Safety as the Priority – Show notes: link
#113 – Gorazd Gotovac | Elaphe – Distributed Drive, In-wheel Motors & Vehicle-level Optimization – Show notes: link
#112 – Fedor Antonov | Anisoprint – 3D Printed Carbon Fiber Composites & Intelligent Design – Show notes: link
#111 – Neha Palmer | Terawatt – Scaling Commercial EV Charging Infrastructure – Show notes: link
#110 – Alex Rodrigues | Embark – The “iPod” Approach to Automated Driving & What Winning Looks Like for Long Haul Truck Automation – link
#109 – Low Volume Manufacturing & Joining Edison – link
#108 – Daniel Barel | REE – Game Theory, the REEcorner & the Backbone for Class 1 through 6 EVs and AVs – Show notes: link
#107 – William Santana Li | Knightscope – Autonomous Security Robots & Creating the Safest Country in the World – Show notes: link
#106 – Glenn Fogel | Booking Holdings – Sustainable Travel and An Enriching Experience of the World – Show notes: link
#105 – Alex Mitchell | Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator – Unlocking Innovation, Debt vs. Equity, and The Most Promising Trends in Cleantech – Show notes: link
#104 – Frank Heidinger & Evan Licht | Halevai – High Performance Electric Pontoons & Urgency to Decarbonize the Marine Sector – Show notes: link
#103 – Kevin Rhodes | Lyten – Lithium Sulfur, 3D Graphene & Significantly Better Batteries – Show notes: link
#102 – Rick Luebbe | Group14 Technologies – Lithium Silicon Batteries, Scaling Up Production & Commander’s Intent – Show notes: link
#101 – Lessons from 100 Interviews Focused on Safe, Sustainable, Effective & Accessible Mobility
#100 – Patrick Hupperich | FEV – Navigating the Dynamic Mobility Space, Evolving a World-Class Organization & Leadership – Show notes: link
#99 – Daryl Adams | The Shyft Group – Blue Arc EVs, Last Mile Electrification & Customized Commercial Vehicle Solutions – Show notes: link
#98 – Tara Andringa | Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) – Educating Drivers about the Capabilities and Limitations of Assisted and Automated Vehicles – link
#97 – Andy Smart | Stantec GenerationAV & Andrew Smart Consulting – Safety for Assisted & Automated Driving – Show notes: link
#96 – Future of Mobility LIVE – Sustainable Infrastructure & Applications with Santosh Sankar and Tyler Lancaster – Show notes: link
#95 – Tekin Meriçli | Locomation – Robotics, A Phased Approach to Automated Driving & Leading an AV Company to Commercialization – Show notes: link
#94 – Harrold Rust | Enovix – 3D Battery Cell Chemistry, Silicon Anodes & the Next Generation of EV Batteries – Show notes: link
#93 – Larry Burns | Autonomy -Automobility, Redefining Mobility & The Quest to Build the Driverless Car – Show notes: link
#92 – Michael Richter | Scantinel – FMCW LiDAR: The Next Step Function Improvement in Sensing Technology – Show notes: link
#91 – Pete Bigelow | Shift & Automotive News – Automated Driving, Electrification, Sustainable Aviation & the Role of Journalism – Show notes: link
#90 – Gunnar Froh | Wunder Mobility – Shared Mobility as a Solution for Sustainable and Effective Transportation – Show notes: link
#89 – Trent Broberg | ACERTUS – Electric Vehicles, Home Deliveries, and Technology-enabled Logistics – Show notes: link
#88 – Anne Schneider | RR.AI -from Autonomous Tactical Vehicles to Trucks, Buses & More – Show notes: link
#87 – David Byron | Sundberg-Ferar –Walking Cars & Designing Products that Make An Impact – Show notes: link
#86 – Rainer Küngas | Stargate Hydrogen – Decarbonization of Locomotives & The Role of Hydrogen – Show notes: link
#85 – Shiva Bhardwaj | Pitstop – Predictive Maintenance & Unlocking the Power of Data – Show notes: link
#84 – Doron Frenkel | Driivz – The Operating System for EV Charging & Improving our Power Ecosystem – Show notes: link
#83 – Martin Rudigier | HELLA Ventures – Corporate Investing, Designing a Career & the Potential of Data – Show notes: link
#82 – 2021 Year in Review for Future of Mobility
Student Spotlight – Matthew Shenton | Storing Cryogenic Hydrogen & The Sustainable Farm of the Future– Show notes: link
#81 – Oren Rosenweig | Innoviz – LiDAR and Making Assisted & Automated Driving Safer – Show notes: link
#80 – Carmen Murer | Synhelion – Synthetic Fuels & Turning Sunlight into Fuel – Show notes: link
Student Spotlight – Abhilash Arora |Wireless Charging, Motor Control & Finding a Fit in Mobility Show notes: link
#79 – Emily Phillips | XPO – Innovative Logistics, Sustainability & Job Crafting – Show notes: link
Student Spotlight – Francis Dunne | Cryogenic Hydrogen Storage for Aerospace & Clean Energy – Show notes: link
#78 – Anurag Kamal | ElectricFish – Distributed Energy Storage for Extreme Fast Charging & Reinventing the Grid – Show notes: link
#77 – Gus Block | Nuvera Fuel Cells – Fuel Cells for Shipping Ports and Off-road Applications – Show notes: link
#76 – Future of Mobility LIVE – Investing in Sustainable Mobility Solution with Chris Thomas & Gabriel Scheer – Show notes: link
#75 – Pace Ralli | SWITCH Maritime – Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Ferries & Other Marine Applications – Show notes: link
#74 – Vitaly Golomb | Drake Star Partners – Investment Banking, Mobility, & the Accelerated Startup – Show notes: link
#73 – Sterling Anderson | Aurora – Autonomous Driving & Playing the Long Game – Show notes: link
#72 – Moshe Cohen | Gravity – Urban EV Fleets and Fast Charging Infrastructure – Show notes: link
#71 – Tomi Ristimäki | Kempower – Charging Technology for All Forms of Electric Vehicles – Show notes: link
#70 – Nino Di Cara | Electric Autonomy Canada – The Optimal EV Charging Station & Why We Can’t Wait to Decarbonize – Show notes: link
#69 – Ameya Joshi | Corning – Reducing Emissions & Why We Need to Continue to Improve the ICE – Show notes: link
#68 – Tarik Bolat | GPR – Ground Positioning Radar as the Missing Piece for ADAS/AD – Show notes: link
#67 – Porter Harris | Power Global – Clean Energy for the World & Electric Rickshaws – Show notes: link
#66 – Jack McCauley | Innovation, Electrified Vehicles, Virtual Reality & More – Show notes: link
#65 – Kevin Antcliff | Xwing – Regional Air Mobility, NASA, Autonomous & Electric Aircraft – Show notes: link
#64 – Nathan Armstrong | Aptera – 1,000 Miles of Range in a Solar Electric Vehicle – Show notes: link
#63 – Mitch Marks | HBK – Test Equipment for EVs and More – Show notes: link
#62 – Ryan Duffy | Emerging Tech Brew – Autonomous, Electric Vehicles & Key Tech Affecting Mobility – Show notes: link
#61 – Charlie Levine | ElectReon – Wireless Charging for Electric Vehicles – Show notes: link
#60 – Sandra Witzel | SkedGo – Mobility-as-a-Service, Accessibility, & Sustainability Show notes: link
#59 – Max Liben | H3X – Integrated Motor Drives for Electric Aircraft – Show notes: link
#58 – Shweta Shrivastava | Waymo – Autonomous Driving & Product Leadership – Show notes : link
#57 – Danielle Harris | Elemental Excelerator – Inspiring Action to Fight Climate Change – Show notes : link
#56 – Ethan Escowitz | Arris Composites – Smarter, Lighter, Strong, & More Sustainable – Show notes : link
#55 – Jay Giraud | Damon Motors – Revolutionizing the Motorcycle & Purpose-Driven Work – Show notes: link
#54 – Jean-Louis Kindler | Ways2H – Hydrogen from Waste – Show notes: link
#53 – Badr Abduljawad & Patrick Steiche | Hydra Energy – Hydrogen-as-a-service and Diesel Co-combustion – Show notes: link
#52 – Kimmo Rauma | Danfoss Editron – Electrification for Heavy Machinery – Show notes: link
#51 – Kelly Senecal & Felix Leach | Racing Toward Zero – The Untold Story of Driving Green – Show notes: link
#50 – John Zelasko | FEV – Engineering the Future of Mobility – Show notes: link
#49 – Chris Thomas | Assembly Ventures – Candor and Rethinking Mobility – Show notes: link
#48 – Josh Sobil | Exro – Advancing Electric Propulsion with Power Electronics – Show notes: link
#47 – John McElroy | Autoline – Media, Electrification, & Automation – Show notes: link
#46 – Alan Dowdell | Wrightspeed – End-to-end Heavy Duty Electric Propulsion Systems – Show notes: link
#45 – Katelyn Davis | Women Driven Mobility & Storytelling in the Mobility Sector – Show notes: link
#44 – Tiffany Chu | Remix – Improving the Streets of the Future – Show notes: link
#43 – James Taylor | Electric Last Mile Solutions – The Ideal Use for EVs? – Show notes: link
#42 – Praveen Penmetsa | Monarch Tractor – Elevating our Food Ecosystem
Praveen Penmetsa is co-founder and CEO of Monarch Tractor, where they’re developing an electric and automated compact tractor.
Key topics:
- The role of mobility solutions in supporting farmers and our food ecosystem
- The potential cost advantages of electric and automated compact tractors
- The unique challenges presented by farming use cases
- Challenges and lessons along the entrepreneurial journey
Praveen Penmetsa has over 18 years of hands-on experience in translating creative visions into products for clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. His formative years were spent building race cars and new mobility solutions under highly compressed timelines and in the last 4 years he has focused his efforts in Agtech solutions. He loves the creative energy that permeates the product engineering lifecycle-especially on seemingly impossible projects. Praveen is CEO of Monarch Tractor and Motivo Engineering, outside of the office, you will find Praveen at the local race track with his vintage BMW.
Video of Monarch tractor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcpi4vR-_44
Monarch Tractor website: www.monarchtractor.com.
Praveen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/praveenpenmetsa
#41 – Kay Cheng | Spin Access – Transportation Equity & Micromobility
Kay Cheng is director of Streets at Equity at Spin. Key topics in this conversation include:
- The newly redesigned Spin Access program
- Their research to enable a micromobility offering to help underserved populations
- The role of micromobility within the greater transportation ecosystem
- How Spin is striving for transportation equity, beyond the Spin Access program
Kay’s background:
Kay Cheng believes in people centered design and that cities should be responsive and adaptive to the changing needs of its residents. She’s excited to be part of a future where roads and public spaces can be easily reconfigured to optimize safety, efficiency, sustainability and enjoyment for all.
Currently, she leads a team at Spin that designed and runs the Safe & Livable Streets Program and Equity Initiatives. Her team at Spin helps cities and advocates provide safer experiences for users, and people walking, biking and rolling on the street. Prior to Spin, she had a long tenure with the San Francisco Planning Department and led many of the Department’s innovative projects like Groundplay, Business Zoning Check, Market Street Prototyping Festival and the Better Roofs Program.
Combining previous experience working at New York City Planning, landscape design, architecture and transportation planning firms she has a knack for pushing the cities to try new things. She has an MS in Urban Planning from Columbia University and a BA in Urban Studies and minor in Digital Design from the University of California Riverside.
Kay’s social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaycheng/; https://twitter.com/hikaycheng?lang=en
Spin website : https://www.spin.app/
Spin social: https://twitter.com/ridespin; https://www.linkedin.com/company/ridespin/
Tortoise release: https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2021/01/27/ford-spin-tortoise-e-scooters.html
#40 – Alisyn Malek | Reshaping Transportation Policy for a Better Future
Alisyn Malek is the Executive Director for the Commission on the Future of Mobility. She is also the founder and CEO of Middle Third, a boutique mobility consultancy helping clients to unlock the potential of technology and transportation. Prior to these roles, she co-founded May Mobility building autonomous vehicle transportation solutions. She grew the company from laboratory concept to operations in three states and a strong pipeline for growth in less than three years. Alisyn started her career as an engineer working on electric vehicle charging technology at General Motors before moving to their corporate venture arm, leading investments across electrification, connected vehicles, mobility and autonomy. Alisyn was recognized as an Automotive News All Star in 2019, a top ten female innovator to watch by Smithsonian in 2018 and a top automotive professional under 35 to watch by LinkedIn in 2015
Topics include:
- The importance of policy in enabling transportation improvements
- Why the Commission on the Future of Mobility was founded
- Their six key principles and their blueprint for making a difference
- Alisyn’s journey from EV engineer to venture capital, May Mobility, and now the Commission
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisynmalek/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/cofomobility/
Commission on the Future of Mobility Twitter
Also, if you like this show, I recommend you check out the Wunder Mobility Podcast with Gunnar Froh and Sam Baker, the co-founders of Wunder Mobility. They cover topics across the new mobility ecosystem and already have invited inspirational thought leaders from the mobility sector to share their visions, products, successes, and setbacks. A really great interview they have done recently is with Ozgur Tohumcu CEO of Oxbotica around the actual and honest status quo of autonomous mobility.
https://wundermobility.podigee.io/
#39 – Chase Drum | Power Grids, Texas, & EV Charging
Chase Drum is an electric vehicle consultant and host of Grid Connections podcast. His podcast looks at how the electrical grid is becoming the intersection between clean transportation, new digital technologies and next gen electric infrastructure.
Topics include:
- How the electrical grid works
- The state of the US grids
- What led to the recent challenges in Texas
- Considerations for increased load caused by electric vehicles
- Sustainability
Further reading:
- Renewable energy is the fastest growing source of energy in the U.S.
- Tracking changes in cost and efficiency of solar over time
- The cost of EV batteries has dropped 89% in 10 years
- Ireland pumped hydro project
- West coast, east coast and Texas interconnects
- Google Deep Mind AI used to reduced cooling usage by 40%
- Second lives of EV packs before recycling
- Pollution impacts of EVs Vs. Hybrids Vs. ICE vehicles on U.S. Grid
#38 – John Pelliccio & Travis Hein | Bose – Beyond Great Sounding Music
John Pelliccio is Head of Product Communications for the Automotive Division and Travis Head of the Automotive advanced development team for Active Sound Management technologies at Bose.
Topics include:
- The relation between noise-cancelling headphones and an automotive environment
- Engine harmonic cancellation
- Other aspects of active sound management
- Bose’s collaboration with DSP-Concepts
- The impact of electrification and automated driving on in-cabin experience
Bose Automotive LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/bose-automotive/
John Pelliccio Bio:
John leads a global team responsible for creating the communications tools required to help describe and demonstrate the unique offerings Bose brings to the automotive marketplace.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-pelliccio-7770a09/
Travis Hein
. Travis manages a team of engineers working on sound and noise management solutions for Bose’s automotive OEM customers.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thein/
#37 – Joe Britton | ZETA – Fighting for an Electric Future
Joe Britton is Executive Director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), an industry coalition advocating for national policies that will enable 100% electric vehicle sales throughout the light-, medium-, and heavy-duty sectors by 2030.
This conversation is focused on electric vehicles, including their benefits, challenges, and what needs to be done to achieve ZETA’s aggressive goal.
ZETA website:
Joe Britton Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-britton-23835b4/
Joe has spent the past fifteen years working in the U.S. Senate, most recently serving as Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM). Prior to that he spent five years as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) and six years with Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) serving as a Legislative Assistant. He also served as a Senior Advisor to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, helping to oversee the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, and the Forest Service. He helped launch the Zero Emission Transportation Association alongside 35 member companies in November 2020.
#36 – Tom Gould & John Gomez | Adient – AI19 and the Interior of the Future
This episode is a Future of Mobility first – a three-way discussion featuring Tom Gould and John Gomez from Adient, a leading global automotive seating supplier. Vehicle interiors, and seating in particular, have a lot of room for growth as autonomous and shared vehicles continue to gain traction. In this conversation, we hear how Tom and John are thinking about the impact of these new technologies on future interiors.
Tom Gould bio:
Thomas Gould leads Design and Technology at Adient. This Includes the Industrial Design and Craftsmanship team that provides product solutions for the Adient automotive seating business unit for production work as well as the Technology and Innovation team that explores advanced concepts that are tied to relevant consumer and business needs.
He has been with the company since 1989.
Tom earned his degree in product and transportation design from Wayne State University and is a certified professional innovator.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasgould/
John Gomez bio:
John Gomez is the Advanced Studio Design Manager for Adient North America. He leads the Design and Innovation Studio, which is responsible for delivering solutions for seating products that add consumer value while addressing the needs of their automotive customers.
The Adient Advanced Design Team leans heavily on both consumer and market research to identify new opportunities that benefit the end-user experience. Pairing these opportunities with the latest technologies and a capable design and engineering team, sets the groundwork for product development and interior concepts, like the Ai19, which was showcased at CES this past year.
John is an Industrial Design graduate from the College for Creative studies and has been with the company for over 20 years.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gomez-0031a116/
Adient AI19 Demonstrator
https://www.adient.com/advancements/ai19
#35 – Bryan Stevens | Petersen Automotive Museum – Electric Vehicles Past, Present, and Future
Bryan Stevens is Creative and Exhibitions Director for the Petersen Automotive Museum, located in Los Angeles. This episode has a different flavor than usual, with Bryan and me talking about his approach to the museum, which is fascinating in itself, as well as the idea of trying to place the rapid technology developments we’re seeing now in a historical context.
You might be surprised by how long electric vehicles have been along.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7l9_nNV7JWaSnNMqNjTEAQ
#34 – Gregory Hunt | Lubrizol – Electric Propulsion, Corrosion, and Fluids
Greg Hunt is Senior Research Chemist for Strategic Research at the Lubrizol Corporation. This discussion is centered on the role of fluids for electric vehicle propulsion systems, with a focus on the risks, causes, and mitigation of wire corrosion. This topic is critical as we look to improve efficiency and lifetime for electric vehicles.
To address this issue, Lubrizol and FEV have collaborated to provide an innovative Wire Corrosion Test for anyone working in this field. This test is the first of its kind and is optimized to provide quick, quantitative feedback to assist in the development and validation of corrosion-resist fluids.
You can learn more about the Wire Corrosion Test here:
https://www.fev.com/index.php?id=1733
Other links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-hunt-6a84ab28/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-lubrizol-corporation/
#33 – Marc Ausman | Airflow.aero – Electric Aircraft for the Middle Mile
Marc Ausman is CEO & Co-founder of Airflow.aero, a startup developing the first electric Short Take-Off and Landing (eSTOL) aircraft designed for middle-mile logistics.
Highlights include:
– Why the Airflow.aero team selected an eSTOL layout rather than an #evtol
– How they settled on middle mile logistics as their initial target application
– How technology advancement is enabling new use cases for aircraft
– The importance of minimizing risk by managing technical complexity
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcausman/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/airflowaero/
#32 – Asaf Weisbrot | Otonomo – Harnessing the Power of Vehicle Data
Asaf Weisbrot is Chief Commercial Office at Otonomo, a company working to make car data as valuable as possible for drivers, passengers, and the transportation ecosystem.
Vehicles collect a mind-boggling volume of data, but this data often isn’t used to its full potential. In this conversation, Asaf and I talk about the different types of data that is available, and practical examples of how this data can be used to improve safety and efficiency for various aspects of the mobility sector. We also touch on key points such as privacy and security.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/asaf-weisbrot-1286281/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/otonomo/
Special Episode – Year in Review for Future of Mobility
As the year comes to a close, I cover three main topics in this special episode:
1. Why was the podcast started in the first place?
2. What are the key trends that have emerged through the first 31 interviews?
3. What’s next?
Thanks to everyone who has listened and followed along.
#31 – Abhishek Kar | Shell – Sustainability, Lubricants, & Range
Abhishek Kar is a Regional Associate Product Manager at Shell, focused on their Lubricant business in the Americas region. Abhishek was recently named as one of the 35 Under 35 Chemical Engineers by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) for his significant contribution to the field and potential for the future, especially in Energy and Environment.
This conversation is pretty evenly split in two. The first part is a technical discussion focused on lubricants and the role of Abhishek’s work in creating a sustainable future, and the second half provides interesting insights into the way Abhishek has approached his career so far.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhishek-kar-1b96436/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/shell/
Bonus – Student Spotlight | John Reimers
John Reimers is a PhD candidate at McMaster University, with his PhD thesis focused on integrated traction inverter and battery charger topologies, including challenges for practical implementation, new topology development, and modelling and experimental validation, which is a hot topic in the automotive space as well as aerospace.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-reimers/?originalSubdomain=ca
#30 – Mark Frohnmayer | Arcimoto – Right-sized (and fun) Electric Mobility Solutions
Mark Frohnmayer is founder and president of Arcimoto, a mobility company pushing to catalyze the shift to a sustainable transportation system. They’re developing and introducing right-size electric mobility solutions with names such as the Fun Utility Vehicle (FUV), the Deliverator, and Rapid Responder.
This conversation provides holistic view at the role of transportation, and the opportunities Mark sees for introducing smaller purpose-built vehicles for the most common trips that we make.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfrohnmayer/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/arcimoto/
Bonus – Student Spotlight | Shreshta Rajakumar Desphande
Shreshta is a PhD candidate at Ohio State, working with the Center for Automotive Research in the domain of optimization and simulation of electrified propulsion systems in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shreshtadr/
#29 – Richard Steiner | Gatik – Automating the Middle Mile
Richard Steiner is Head of Policy and Communications at Gatik. Gatik is developing autonomous vehicles for B2B short-haul logistics with the mission of delivering goods safely and efficiently using autonomous vehicles.
Gatik has an existing partnership with Walmart and has recently announced a partnership with Canada’s largest retailer, Loblaw. As you’ll hear, Gatik is focused on the “middle mile,” as opposed to the more popular long haul truck or last-mile applications. During this episode, you’ll hear why this was selected as the focus, and what this focus has meant for the way Gatik develops and implements their solution.
Bonus – Student Spotlight | Media Sina
Media Sina is an R&D Engineer Intern at Coreshell Technologies and studying Chemical ad Biomecular Engineering at UC Berkeley. Much of her focus has been on battery technology in the pursuit more efficient and longer lasting batteries
https://www.linkedin.com/in/media-sina/
#28 – David Oord | Lilium – eVTOLs and Regional Air Mobility of the Future
David Oord is Head of Regulatory Affairs Americas at Lilium, which is a German company developing a revolutionary air taxi service. As David and I discussed in this episode, Lilium has recently announced that a brand new vertiport will be constructed in Orlando, Florida, as a major development in the US for this new era of air mobility.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/lilium-aviation-gmbh/?originalSubdomain=de
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-oord/
#27 – Çetin Meriçli | Locomation – Automated Driving for Semi-Trucks
Çetin Meriçli is CEO and Co-founder of Locomation, which is a Pittsburgh-based startup with the goal of making trucking safer and transportation more efficient through automated driving technology.
They’re already showcasing the benefit of the first manifestation of this technology, their Autonomous Relay Convoy (ARC), and Locomation has a longer term vision of progressing this into full-self driving technology. We spent much of this conversation focused on Locomation’s approach, and the challenges associated with automating semi-trucks.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/locomation/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cetinmericli/
#26 – Nat Ford | Ultimate Urban Circulator, Leadership, & the JTA
Nat Ford is CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (or JTA). Mr. Ford’s storied career includes tenures as CEO of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.
He has received an incredible list of accolades, including the American Public Transportation Association’s Outstanding Public Transportation Manager for 2020, as well as the White House Champion of Change award.
This forward-looking conversation focused on the role automated vehicles can play in public transportation, as well as the different ways in which a transportation authority (and specifically JTA) can have a significant impact on its community.
JTA website: https://www.jtafla.com/
During the conversation, we discussed JTA’s approach to hiring and developing their culture. Mr. Ford highlighted the Leadership Characteristics that the JTA has developed, which are shown below:
Apple Podcasts: link
Google Podcasts: link
Spotify: link
#25 – Dr. Anita Sengupta | Aircraft Propulsion Systems & Urban Air Mobility
Dr. Anita Sengupta’s areas of impact have included:
➡️The landing parachute on the Curiosity Rover that landed on Mars
➡️The Cold Atom Laboratory
➡️The Virgin Hyperloop (as VP of Systems Engineering)
➡️Ion engines
Now her research is focused on:
✅ eVTOLS
✅ Hydrogen fuel cell powered aircraft
✅ Supersonic boom mitigation technology
✅ In-space power and propulsion systems
This was a fascinating discussion, covering many of the above topics.
Apple podcasts: link
Spotify: link
Google Podcasts: link
#24 – Ryan Duffy | Emerging Tech Brew & Key Tech Trends Affecting Mobility
Ryan Duffy created and writes Emerging Tech Brew. If you aren’t familiar with the newsletter and you like anything that’s been covered in this podcast so far, I recommend you check it out. Emerging Tech Brew is under the Morning Brew umbrella and is one of the world’s largest tech newsletters. https://www.morningbrew.com/emerging-tech
This discussion is a fun journey through the key trends that are affecting mobility, such as:
- Electrification
- Shared mobility
- Automated driving
- Increased work-from-home
- Start-ups, suppliers, and tech companies competing with traditional OEMs
We also spent some time at the beginning talking about what makes Morning Brew so special.
Ryan’s personal site : https://xn--8p9h.fm/
Apple podcasts: link
Google podcasts: link
Spotify: link
#23 – Liza Dixon | Trust in Assisted/Automated Vehicles & Autonowashing
Terms such as “autopilot” and “full self driving” are being used for systems that are currently on the market – but should they?
Liza Dixon is a PhD Candidate at RWTH Aachen University, focused on the human-machine interaction in automated driving and trust in advanced driver assistance systems.
Our discussion centers around education and communication for assisted and automated driving systems, including a dangerous practice Liza has labeled as autonowashing. Overall, an incredibly important, and I think timely, discussion.
Apple podcasts: link
Google podcasts: link
Spotify: link
#22 – Jim Adler | Toyota AI Ventures – AI, Autonomy, Mobility, Robotics, Data, & Cloud.
“If it’s true that the auto industry is under siege by new, insurgent big tech, how does a company like Toyota respond to that?”
Here’s my conversation with Jim Adler, who is Founding Managing Director at Toyota AI Ventures.
We covered a wide range of topics including #smartcities, #automation, #machinelearning, #artificialintelligence, antifragility, and more.
And we even touched on some of Toyota AI Venture’s portfolio companies, such as:
– Bumblebee Spaces
– Intuition Robotics
– Moodify
– Perceptive Automata
– Recogni
#21 – Clare Jones | what3words – The Simplest Way to Talk about Location
Clare Jones is the chief commercial officer at what3words – who has split the entire world into 10 ft x 10 ft squares in an attempt to change the way that we talk about location.
With their focus on the digital world, and the impact their system is already having in several aspects of mobility, this was an eye-opening discussion for me.
As we discussed, there are obvious benefits for last mile delivery, ride hailing, ride sharing, emergency services, and more.
Here’s the Apple Podcasts link: