SAE Tomorrow Today

Latest Episodes:

170. UNPLUGGED: Is Licensing the Future of Autonomy? Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

Develop technology, patent it, and license it. Because not every company has the time or resources to develop a fully autonomous driving stack, this model could become the future of autonomy.

Join Grayson Brulte, Host of SAE Tomorrow Today, as he discusses the implications of Tesla’s recent agreements with GM and Ford, and how these developments could enable software licensing as the autonomous business model of the future.

Have your own thoughts on this topic? We’d love to hear from you! Share your comments, questions or ideas for future topics with Grayson on Twitter or send them to podcast@sae.org.

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169. Avant-Garde EV Company to Build in the US Jun 22, 2023

Show notes

While you may not have heard of Polestar, its exceptional performance, unique buying experience, and commitment to sustainability enables this novel brand to “intercept” its customers.

Headquartered in Sweden and built with Scandinavian minimalism in mind, Polestar offers a friction-free, primarily digital EV buying experience which includes boutique showrooms in areas with high foot traffic—a contrast to the traditional car lot. The company recently unveiled its first electric performance SUV, the Polestar 3, which is produced in United States.

With a focus on supply chain traceability and sustainability labelling, Polestar assesses their vehicles’ lifetime carbon footprint, covering emissions from materials production, manufacturing, and logistics, use phase, and end of life. As part of their commitment to an electrified future, Polestar also recently partnered with the SAE Foundation to spark STEM curiosity amongst students.

To learn more about this burgeoning brand, we sat down with Gregor Hembrough, Head of Polestar North America, to discuss the company’s vision, traceability in the supply chain, and the Polestar 3 production in South Carolina.

We’d love to hear from you. Share your comments, questions and ideas for future topics and guests to podcast@sae.org. Don’t forget to take a moment to follow SAE Tomorrow Today—a podcast where we discuss emerging technology and trends in mobility with the leaders, innovators and strategists making it all happen—and give us a reviewon your preferred podcasting platform.

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168. Carving a Path Forward for EV Infrastructure Jun 15, 2023

Show notes

With the recent announcement that Ford has partnered with Tesla to include NACS connectors in its EVs starting in 2025, the race is on to determine the best path forward for standardizing EV charging technology and infrastructure.

To discuss this topic and much more, we sat down with Amy Ford, Vice President, Global Surface Transportation and Mobility Innovation Lead at AECOM, the world’s leading global infrastructure consulting firm. From public policy to consumer experience, we discuss how EVs are reshaping our transportation and energy ecosystem—and the importance of flexibility in building an EV infrastructure that will stand the test of time.

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167. BRIEFS: EV Batteries Get a Second Life Down Under Jun 13, 2023

Show notes

EV Batteries Get a Second Life Down Under

Even after close to a decade of use, EV batteries still retain about 80% of their capacity. This means that they can be used for other purposes, like storing energy for homes. We call this a second life.

In the latest episode of Sustainable Mobility Briefs, Frank Menchaca, President, Sustainable Mobility Solutions at SAE International, discusses how a team of Australian researchers discovered that repurposed EV batteries—if re-used for a period of about four years—can reduce the overall environmental impact that comes with making them in the first place.

Research like this is so important as we ensure EVs live up to the promise of a net zero emission future.

Have your own thoughts on this topic? We’d love to hear from you! Share your comments, questions or ideas for future topics by sending them to podcast@sae.org.

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166. Unleashing Wireless Power Transfer for EVs Jun 08, 2023

Show notes

When it comes to EV charging, many of us are wondering: what comes after the plug? The answer is one of the hottest topics in mobility: Wireless Power Transfer.

Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) is the process whereby electrical energy is transmitted from a power source to an electrical load across an air gap using induction coils. It’s a game-changer in terms of EV adoption given its high-power, touchless charging ability.

For insight into this ground-breaking technology, we sat down with Jesse Schneider, CEO/CTO, ZEV Station, a company working to commercialize wireless charging and hydrogen fuel technology. We discuss his background and leadership in developing the SAE J2954 standard on Wireless Power Transfer for EVs and how ZEV Station is combining fast electric vehicle charging with complementary high-throughput hydrogen stations.

If developing industry standards interests you, consider joining an SAE Committee. For more information, please email Standards Specialist, Dante Rahdar, at dante.rahdar@sae.org, and view the Bonus Features below.

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165. BRIEFS: Geologists on TikTok? Jun 06, 2023

Show notes

It might just be what we need to bring awareness to the game-changing opportunities of green collar jobs.

In the inaugural episode of our Sustainable Mobility Briefs, Frank Menchaca, President, Sustainable Mobility Solutions at SAE International, discusses the important role geologists—and many others—have to play in creating a responsible and sustainable EV battery ecosystem.

By creating awareness, we can support the transition to net-zero transportation while opening up EV battery and infrastructure job opportunities to people from all walks of life.

Have your own thoughts on this topic? We’d love to hear from you! Share your comments, questions or ideas for future topics by sending them to podcast@sae.org.

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164. North Texas Nurtures Next Generation of Mobility Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

When it comes to cultivating new mobility technologies at scale, one sprawling ecosystem in North Texas is in a league of its own.

AllianceTexas is a 27,000-acre master-planned industrial, mixed-use and residential development in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. As a global logistics hub, this visionary development has transformed the North Texas economy by generating more than 66,000 jobs and an estimated $111 billion in regional economic impact.

With a unique set of air and ground logistics, the Mobility Innovation Zone offers full access to the resources and partnerships necessary to scale and commercialize new technologies at scale—as well as a full spectrum of AV mobility use cases from first to last mile.

For the inside scoop, we sat down with Ian Kinne, Director of Logistics Innovation at Hillwood, the developer of AllianceTexas and leader of the Mobility Innovation Zone, to discuss technology commercialization and the future of mobility and supply chain efficiencies for Hillwood’s partners and the region.

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163. UNPLUGGED: Will SAE Level 3 Introduce Personally Owned AVs? May 25, 2023

Show notes

The consumer has spoken. We want to own our own autonomous vehicles.

While we may not be at SAE Level 4 yet, our society is well on its way to an autonomous future with the introduction and adoption of personally owned SAE Level 3 AVs – all thanks to the Tesla effect.

With AI data sets like the Tesla Dojo on the horizon, Grayson Brulte, Host of SAE Tomorrow Today, discusses the impact of SAE Level 3 and how the imminent adoption of personally owned autonomous vehicles is set to transform mobility as we know it.

Have your own thoughts on this topic? We’d love to hear from you! Share your comments, questions or ideas for future topics with Grayson on Twitter or send them to podcast@sae.org.

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162. Cleaning Up the EV Battery Supply Chain May 18, 2023

Show notes

Demand for lithium-ion batteries is estimated to grow 500% in the next 10 years. With such an intense surge on the horizon, there is a need to ramp up the supply chain quickly and sustainably to support this growth.

Enter Redwood Materials. Founded by JB Straubel, co-founder and former CTO of Tesla, Redwood is transforming the EV battery supply chain by producing anode copper foil and cathode active materials in the US at scale for the first time—and using an increasing amount of recycled content to build those components.

Currently, EV battery materials move 50,000+ miles before they reach a battery cell factory. By offering large-scale sources of domestic anode and cathode materials produced from an increasing number of recycled batteries that directly go back to U.S. cell manufacturers, Redwood is creating a closed-loop, domestic supply chain for lithium-ion batteries.

We sat down with Alexis Georgeson, VP Government Relations & Communications, to discuss Redwood Materials circular supply chain and how the company is recycling, refining, and remanufacturing battery materials for a clean energy future.

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161. Is the Rise of EVs the End of the Gas Tax? May 11, 2023

Show notes

With more and more consumers plugging in their cars instead of filling up their tanks, the gas tax is slowly eroding—just like many of our roads and bridges across the country. Less fuel tax means less money for repairing our decaying infrastructure, but Road Usage Charges (RUC) can change that.

RUC — also referred to as a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee, a distance-based user fee (DBF), or a mileage-based user fee (MBUF) — charges motorists based on the number of miles they drive instead of the number of gallons of fuel they put into their vehicles. This evolution to a more usage-based model provides sustainability and fairness in paying for our roads and bridges as more and more consumers move to EVs.

As a leading global engineering and professional services firm, WSP USA has led some of the largest and most successful RUC pilots in the country. These efforts have led to wider state consideration and enhanced regional interest in RUC as a viable future transportation funding source.

For expert insight, we sat down with David S. Kim, SVP and Principal, National Transportation Policy and Multimodal Strategy for WSP USA, to discuss RUC and how more states are considering RUC funding as an option given the rise in EV ownership and impacts of inflation. He also share insight on transit agencies’ complicated and expensive efforts to transition bus fleets to zero emission.

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