Exclusive Video: e-mobility insights at Sustainability LIVE

The electric car. What was once seen as a luxury is now viewed as a necessity by many in the automotive industry, and among business owners, fleet operators, and industrial titans.

The evolution of the electric vehicle (EV) is accelerating like no other industry change before it, marking one of the most profound efforts to decarbonise a legacy industry and bring into the future. But there are questions though. 

How much will it cost? Will it fit my business strategy? Will it create inconvenience? 

As a result of these questions, we’ve seen the launch of EV Magazine, the first ever EV Magazine LIVE, but as such a key part of sustainability, the topic was also incorporated into the Sustainability LIVE London hybrid conference. 

The panel ‘The Sustainable Transport Forum’ shows a diverse trio of experts from the EV sector who touch upon various aspects of e-mobility from their perspectives in electric car charging and infrastructure, digital technology and fleet, as well as motorsports. 

Electrification is a key topic of the Sustainable Transport Forum

Influencing e-mobility of sustainability advocacy and automotive performance, Peter Gallagher brings his perspective as the Commercial Director of Extreme E. When asked about performance and whether it’s one of the key factors bringing people closer to owning EVs, Gallagher says “ from a marketing point of view, we see EVs as a facilitation of transport—not fun. If you look at F1 for example, they’re 1.5 or 1.6-litre engines, but they perform at a really high level. The efficiency that motorsport can give the EV market is great.” 

“What the EV market needs to do is grasp that emotional aspect of motorsport.”

Moving away from the performance and entertainment aspect of electrification, Neil Perry, Head of Multimedia at BizClik, turns to Martin Kochman, VP, Customers and Industries at Hitachi, to understand the application of EVs commercially while drawing on the company’s insights from its involvement in the Optimise Prime initiative.

“There are lots of things that influence people’s decisions to buy an EV, and some of them are very qualitative around values and the person they think they are and want to project into the world,” says Kochman. 

“In the commercial environment that is also kind of true, but money does tend to play a much more prominent part. Among the conclusions from Optimise Prime was that, actually, the business case for EVs is pretty marginal in many cases.

Touching on the point from a charging perspective, Sam Clarke, Chief Vehicle Officer at GRIDSERVE Sustainability Energy Limited, provides a great outlook on the company’s future plans as it addresses the major consumer concern of charging infrastructure. 

“The phraseology that everyone uses now is that it’s all about the charging infrastructure or the charging infrastructure is not good enough, which it isn’t but is improving at a dramatic pace,” says Clarke. 

“We just recently raised half a billion pounds to accelerate the uptake of EVs and put more infrastructure in the ground across most of the service stations in the UK so that people will be able to graze and charge conveniently, and not too dissimilar from that of filling up with petrol.” 

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For more insights into Sustainability - check out the latest edition of Sustainability Magazine and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn & Twitter

Other magazines that may be of interest - EV Magazine | Energy Digital

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Net Zero LIVE will be hosted live from the QEII Centre, London on the 6th and 7th of March, and streamed globally via our virtual event platform Brella. Net Zero LIVE London will feature four LIVE themes, incorporating Sustainability LIVE, EV LIVE, Scope 3 LIVE, and Energy LIVE to deliver a holistic conference and exhibition experience with opportunities to connect with like-minded peers and actively contribute to crafting a sustainable future. Following Net Zero LIVE, viewers can also sign up for Sustainability LIVE Dubai and Singapore. 

Sign up to the The Global Sustainability & ESG Awards 2024, coming to London on the 11th September 2024. 

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BizClik is a global provider of B2B digital media platforms that cover 'Executive Communities' for CEO's, CFO's, CMO's, Sustainability Leaders, Procurement & Supply Chain Leaders, Technology & AI Leaders, Cyber Leaders, FinTech & InsurTech Leaders as well as covering industries such as Manufacturing, Mining, Energy, EV, Construction, Healthcare + Food & Drink.

BizClik, based in London, Dubai & New York offers services such as Content Creation, Advertising & Sponsorship Solutions, Webinars & Events.