May 14th, 2019 – the vision of the CMC is presented
May 18th, 2019 – the funding of the CMC is approved
And Mar 11th, 2021 – the CMC is officially launched with full commercial operations
“The California Mobility Center is envisioned building a public-private consortium that will bring together technology companies, automakers, utilities, entrepreneurs, top researchers, and investors to provide innovative products and services in the rapidly expanding mobility market.” – Arlen Orchard. Chair of the Board on May 18th, 2019
"As a Founding Partner, EnerTech played a critical role in the conceptualization, feasibility assessment, detailed design, and establishment of the California Mobility Center and continues to contribute to its management today." - Wally Hunter, Managing Director, EnerTech Capital
Fast-forward 3 years – here we are at the first California Mobility Center Showcase (in person!) to celebrate the global collaboration of mobility innovation! It is certainly a thrilling experience to meet a variety of luminaries leading in the realm of mobility innovation, including corporate leaders from Linamar, Alectra, Goodyear, Pilot, CAT, SEW, EDF Innovation Lab, Idemitsu, ZF etc., researchers from renowned academic institutions like UC Davis, Western University, and Sacramento State University, supporting policy makers and proactive community leaders, as well as incredible early-stage company founders and talents etc. We also can’t wait to see what’s to come from the announcement of the intercontinental partnership with Qatar Mobility Innovations Center.
The Showcase gave me the opportunity to take a closer look at some of the new products developed by CMC Clients. Here’s a snapshot of a few of the intriguing companies I came across:
As the third commercial client to join the CMC, Zeus Electric Chassis unveiled and delivered their first truck, a class 5 all-electric heavy duty commercial work truck to their 1st customer, SMUD. This is an excellent example demonstrating the CMC‘s capability to accelerate the commercialization of early-stage technologies.
GridMatrix develops an advanced analytics software to help cities optimize traffic management, reduce congestion, accidents, and associated emissions. Sounds like something you’d like your city to deploy, doesn’t it?
ElectricFish develops a turnkey EV fast charging solutions with modular DER units dropped off onsite to avoid costly and time-intensive grid upgrades while supporting local grid management. It also provides an intelligence tool to predict the profitability and resiliency of co-locating storage with EV charging at certain locations. After a year of “great to E-meet you”, it was exciting to meet Vince from ElectricFish in person!
UZE Mobility builds large digital advertising boards which attach to vehicles, displaying banner advertising while on public roads, responding in real-time using situation-specific data. How convenient to find a relevant job ad while waiting for the traffic light!
Intertie provides an microgrid platform that integrates ultra-fast EV charging, solar + storage, and building energy management to monetize multiple value streams. Definitely more fast charging on the way please!
Sheeva.AI provides a Vehicle Location-Based Services for a seamless in-vehicle experience. Their precise geolocation technology allows drivers to pay for and receive services such as fueling, EV charging, parking, curbside pickup, and drive-through without leaving the comfort of their vehicle. Maybe we can sit tight and relax😉 (especially during winter!)
Guident is developing a software platform with AI algorithms and secured, low-latency mobile connectivity for AV fleet operators to monitor and control both autonomous passenger vehicles and autonomous ground-based delivery devices accurately, continuously, and remotely. How about that for extra safety precaution?
Emus provides intelligent and highly flexible lithium battery management systems that are applicable for EVs, industrial and home energy storage. Want to improve the health of your battery?
Ztractor has developed an autonomous electric tractor for the farming sector, improving farming efficiency and cutting emissions. Our farmers may get a break from some time-consuming farming operations!
Recurrent is building an online marketplace for the sale of used electric vehicles. They developed an ML model to determine the battery health and range prediction of a used EV with a high degree of probability. Very insightful for a prospective used EV buyer like myself!
Owl AI (attended the event but are not a CMC client) develops a high-definition 3D thermal imaging solution with a high precision range for safe autonomous operation in all weather, day or night. Seems like a pretty important hardware component for an autonomous vehicle to me!
Last but not least, I also had a lot of fun testing the “limit” of a Fun Utility Vehicle, the electric three-wheeler made by Arcimoto. The compact size of the vehicles provides tremendous flexibility on the road (e.g. for last-mile commuting & delivery). Check out my test-driving video: “Woo hoo!”
As you can tell, I enjoyed this year’s showcase very much and I can’t wait for next year’s 😎.
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