SAE Update - October 2022 - 21

TECH FOCUS:SUSTAINABLE
ENERGY TECHNOLOGY
adding EVs to their product stables, with virtually
every vehicle OEM committing to a full, or very
significant, shift to electrified vehicles in the coming
years. As the number of EVs increases, so too are the
number of charging stations.
Electrify America, which has the most public fastcharging
stations in the U.S., recently announced its
network will add 100 charging stations with solar
awnings and 350-kW fast charging. " We think that
350-kW charging, which allows a vehicle to recharge
at about 20 miles of range per minute, is the gamechanger.
It's the essential 'thing' to enable mainstream
Americans to go electric and switch from gasoline, "
Matthew Nelson, director of governmental affairs at
Electrify America, told the WCX audience via remote
link. He added that the company's charging stations
are powered with renewable energy.
For electrified commercial vehicles, wired charging
isn't the only option, according to Bryan Rubio,
director of Energy Services for Ideanomics. One of the
company's subsidiaries, Wave, is a provider of wireless
charging (125 kW to 500 kW) for commercial EVs. In
simple terms, Wave's charging pads are roadwayembedded
to enable wireless power transfer over a
5-inch to 8-inch (127 to 203mm) air gap to a receiving
pad on the vehicle's undercarriage.
The company's wireless inductive charging powers
America's largest mass transit electric bus fleet (the
Antelope Valley Transit Authority in California). " Will
wireless charging be as prolific in the passenger
vehicle space as it will be in the medium- and heavyduty
space - that's a great question, " Rubio said.
Kevin Butt, regional environmental sustainability
director for Toyota's North American Environmental
Sustainability Programs, encouraged industry leaders
to look at sustainability with wide-ranging vision.
UPDATE
" Where do we get the power to
power the chargers? That's the
bigger sustainability question, "
Butt asserted. " There needs to
be balance. We need to think
about the whole lifecycle of how
we're doing this. "
He also advocated for green
practices across the automotive
supply chain. " We have green
supplier requirements, " Butt said,
referencing Toyota contractual
agreements that set targets of
3% carbon reduction on an
annual basis. " We're not just
telling them that. We're helping
them with that, " Butt said, citing
webinars and seminars on the
subject matter.
" This space of sustainability
requires mutual understanding,
mutual definitions, and mutual
cooperation to be able to move
us collectively into a space where
we are actually achieving the
targets that we're looking at, "
Butt declared. Collaboration and
the sharing of ideas is one way to
help all parties succeed with
sustainability goals. " This
shouldn't be exclusive. This
should be an area where we can
work together and share that
best practice and share the
progress that's being made, " he
said. n
October 2022
21
SAE Update - October 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAE Update - October 2022
