Santa Monica, California, Sept. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Organizers of ACT Virtual, a four-month online event series covering innovations in advanced vehicle technology and clean fueling infrastructure, announced a month of programming focused on two transportation hot topics—investment trends in the rapidly growing advanced transportation market and the evolving electric vehicle charging landscape.
Kicking off programming on September 15 and 17, ACT Virtual will launch the Advanced Transportation Investor Summit, a virtual forum for investors, entrepreneurs, top OEMs and suppliers, fleet customers, and policymakers to share insight on the state of investment in the clean fleet market and what it means for scaling innovative solutions and technologies.
The Advanced Transportation Investor Summit will feature an opening keynote address on September 15 by Jay Craig, CEO and president of Meritor, an ACT Virtual sponsor and a leading global supplier of drivetrain, mobility, braking and aftermarket solutions for commercial vehicles. With a more than 110-year legacy of bringing innovative products to the market, Craig will give an overview of how an established industry leader structures a strategic investment portfolio to support future growth based on the rapidly changing technology.
“I look forward to sharing Meritor’s experience and insight in the creation of an entirely new electrical architecture that maximizes power, technology and efficiency,” said Jay Craig, CEO and President of Meritor. “As adoption accelerates faster than expectations, we are ready.”
A closing keynote address on September 17 will be provided by Michael Linse, founder and managing director of Linse Capital, a growth equity investment firm focused on innovative transportation and energy technology companies including ChargePoint, Valens, and Proterra. With more than 20 years of experience, previously with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and Goldman Sachs, Linse will provide valuable insight on investment strategies for innovative startups, the investment community, and the all-important end-user. He will focus on some of the key characteristics for picking industry leaders and how companies can survive to achieve scale.
The two-day summit consists of two speaker-led panel sessions which provide attendees with an overview of the private and public investments fueling the clean transportation market, the hard-won lessons from early stage investors, and how transformative technologies have reached commercial scale through strategic investments. The speaker lineup for the ACT Virtual Investor Summit includes leaders in public and private investment, venture capital, and fleets at the forefront of innovation. Panels include:
September 15: Jumpstarting the Market: VCs, Government, and Entrepreneurs Building the Advanced, Clean Fleet Market Panel:
- Sam Gabbita, Ventures Director, Climate Investments
- Commissioner Patty Monahan, California Energy Commission
- Brook Porter, Partner, G2VP
- Alden Woodrow, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ike
September 17: Scaling to Success: The Financial Leap to Mass Deployments in the Advanced, Clean Fleet Market Panel:
- Morgan Andreae, Executive Director of the Growth Office, Cummins Inc.
- Chris Haffenreffer, Assistant Vice President of Innovation, Enterprise Holdings
- Matt McLelland, Innovation Strategist, Covenant Transport
- Mary Nichols, Chair, California Air Resources Board
- Pasquale Romano, Chief Executive Officer, ChargePoint
The EV Charging Workshop, which is an extension of the popular annual workshop at ACT Expo, is slated to take place on September 22 and September 24, will feature an opening keynote address by Annette Clayton, CEO and president of Schneider Electric North America, an energy and automation digital solutions provider focused on efficiency and sustainability. Clayton will be sharing some of the latest hardware and software energy innovations for EV charging.
A closing keynote address will be provided by Rustam Kocher, e-mobility ecosystem lead of Daimler Trucks North America, an ACT Virtual sponsor and the leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America. Kocher manages utility engagements for Daimler and leads the standardization effort for High-Power Charging for Commercial Vehicle (HPCCV) CharIN Task Force. Kocher will be discussing the importance of charging hardware standards and the evolution of the charging industry to reach mainstream adoption for medium- and heavy-duty EVs.
The two-day workshop features cutting-edge EV charging technology demonstrations followed by a deep dive panel session highlighting both the success stories and challenges that exist in scaling EV charging infrastructure. Panels include:
September 22: Best Practices in Scaling EV Charging Infrastructure for Fleet Operations Panel:
- Mike Barnes, Senior Regional Facilities Manager, Penske Transportation Solutions
- Michael Gerty, Director of Advanced Research, PACCAR
- Henrik Holland, Chief Operating Officer, Greenlots
- Natalia Swalnick, Senior Director, Electrification Coalition
September 24: Choosing the Right Charging Hardware Options for Your Fleet Panel:
- David Finn, Founder and Chief Growth Officer, Tritium
- Randal Kaufman, Sales Director, Black and Veatch
- Kim Okafor, Zero Emission Solutions Manager, Trillium
During the EV Charging Workshop, ACT Virtual will host live press conferences from leading developers of battery electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, and batteries including ChargePoint, Lion Electric, Volvo Trucks North America, Romeo Power Technology, and Electrify America.
ACT Virtual is supported by the industry’s leading suppliers. Shell New Energies is the presenting sponsor of ACT Virtual, joined by Agility Fuel Solutions, Allison Transmission, Bosch, BYD, ChargePoint, Daimler Trucks North America, Dana Inc., Kenworth, Lion Electric, Meritor, Navistar, Peterbilt, Propane Education & Research Council, Quantum Fuel Systems, Siemens, Southern California Edison, U.S. Gain, and Volvo Trucks North America as series sponsors.
The event is also supported by the California Energy Commission (CEC), California Fuel Cell Partnership, the California Hydrogen Business Council, the Electrification Coalition, North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE), NGVAmerica, and the Municipal Equipment Maintenance Association (MEMA).
ACT Virtual will continue through November 19th. For more information and to register, visit www.act-virtual.com.
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About ACT Virtual:
ACT Virtual is a 4-month, education series taking place from August to November 2020 that will spotlight the trends, policies, and technologies driving the future of fleet transportation. ACT Virtual is produced by the organizers of the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo—Gladstein, Neandross & Associates (GNA). GNA is the leading North American consulting firm specializing in market development for low-emission and alternative fuel vehicle technologies, infrastructure and fuels for both on and off-road applications. Learn more at www.act-virtual.com and www.gladstein.org.