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Electrify Our Roads: The Case for E-Mobility

Friday, Apr 16, 2021

The new transportation secretary wants to change transport in the United States vowing for more investment in rail transport, electrification of cars and associated infrastructure, “Complete Streets“, the building of 500,000 electric-vehicle charging stations, and the regulation of autonomous and advanced driver-assist technologies. We will be looking at the future of e-mobility in (Smart) Cities and discuss questions with our two industry panelists such as:

  • Where does the US stand with respect to its e-mobility infrastructure?
  • Are more e-vehicles the solution to a low-carbon transition in mobility?
  • How can commercial fleets be changed in a cost effective way (e.g. for logistics companies)
  • How can the charging networks across the US be scaled up?
  • How can charging networks across different communities and states be established that follow unified standards?
  • What will digital technology do to address the issue ?

Panelists:

  • John DeBoer, Head of Future Grid and Global eMobility Solutions, Siemens
  • Spencer Reeder, Director GOV Affairs & Sustainability, Audi of America

Moderator

  • Niko Palosuo, Head of external communications, Covestro

Date: Friday, April 16th, 2021
Time: 12PM to 1PM ET | 9AM to 10AM PT
Platform: Zoom Meeting

This is the sixth in a series of monthly “Smart Cities” virtual events leading up to our German-American Economic Forum, now scheduled for 2021. #GAEF2021

Register via the Link below. 

Everyone who registered will automatically receive the Zoom event link via Email (if you don’t see it, it may have been caught in your spam/junk folder. It is coming from GABC Boston – info@gabc-boston.org)


Speakers

Panelists

John DeBoer, Head of Future Grid and Global eMobility Solutions, Siemens

John DeBoer leads the North American eMobility and Future Grids business for Siemens and is a member of the global eMobility management team. In this role, he is responsible for accelerating Siemens leadership in eMobility infrastructure across all vehicle categories through customer-centric solution offerings for the diverse requirements of this industry. John has held an array of different technology leadership roles including in EV charging, residential distributed generation storage, photovoltaics, and low voltage protection products. In these roles, he has worked with numerous start-ups and partner organizations to identify and integrate technologies to address larger energy management, distributed generation, and digital grid integration issues. John holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He holds 15 patents in the areas of connected EV charging, intelligent distributed generation, micro electrical mechanical systems, and advanced energy controls.


Spencer Reeder, Director Government Affairs & Sustainability, Audi of America

Spencer Reeder is Director of Government Affairs and Sustainability at Audi of America. He was appointed in August 2018 and is based in Sacramento, CA. In his position, Spencer is responsible for leading the Audi U.S. public policy voice on zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs), EV charging infrastructure, and associated energy sector issues, in addition to providing overall leadership on the brand’s sustainability strategy and initiatives.

Spencer has a background in engineering, geophysics, climate science, and policy spanning academia, industry and government. He served as a lead author on the 2014 U.S. National Climate Assessment and earlier as Lead Policy Strategist for Climate Change within Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire’s administration. Just prior to joining Audi, Spencer led Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s global philanthropic investments in climate, energy, and transportation. Earlier in his career he held various research and engineering roles at The Boeing Company. Spencer was twice selected as a finalist for NASA’s astronaut program.

Spencer holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from University of Washington and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from University of Colorado.

Moderator

Niko Palosuo, Head of external communications, Covestro

Niko Palosuo is a deeply digital communications & public affairs aficionado, currently working as Head of Global External Communications at Covestro, a leading producer of advanced polymers and high-performance plastics in North America and around the world. Originally from Finland, Niko worked for several years as a journalist in daily newspapers & trade media in Finland, Germany and Hong Kong. Then he switched over to international corporations, where he did a wide spectrum of communications roles across hi-tech, pharmaceutical & chemical industries. He worked as editor-in-chief of a customer magazine, led internal & media communications, financial communications as well as public & governmental affairs, ultimately leading the communications & public affairs departments for international companies such as Pfizer Finland & Bayer Nordic. In his previous position at Covestro he led the global marketing communications of its polyurethanes business unit. Niko holds a Masters Degree in Political Science and International Law from the University of Helsinki, and is online since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter (@nikopalosuo) in the west and WeChat (palosuo_n) in the east, and watch him livestreaming at @Covestro #HomeOfficeTalks!