Friday, November 15th, 2024 | 10:30 am – 11:50 am
Eric Wood, Senior Researcher, EV Charging Infrastructure, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: 1605 Tilia Street, Suite 100, Davis, CA
Join via Zoom
(passcode: ucdenergy)
U.S. climate goals for economywide net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will require rapid decarbonization of the transportation sector, and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are poised to become the preferred technology for achieving this end. The combination of policy action and industry goal setting has led analysts to project that by 2030, PEVs could account for 48%–61% of the U.S. light-duty market. This transition is unprecedented in the history of the automotive industry and will require support across multiple domains, including adequate supply chains, favorable public policy, broad consumer education, proactive grid integration, and (germane to this presentation) a national charging network. Reflections on the role of charging infrastructure in this transition will be presented, including an argument that infrastructure investment should “lead” vehicle deployment. While not the case today, an environment where infrastructure can be deployed efficiently enables the industry to responsively balance the supply of infrastructure subject to forecasts for unprecedented increases in demand.
Eric Wood is a Senior Engineer at NREL leading EV infrastructure projects in California, New York, and on behalf of the US Department of Energy. Working in NREL’s Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences, Eric has a decade of experience integrating real-world travel data into the analysis of vehicle, infrastructure, and energy storage systems. He has a background in mechanical engineering and enjoys working at the intersection of the automotive, transportation, and power sectors.
