Building Better with Brandon Bartneck

This is a repost of Episode 158, originally aired on June 4, 2023. This conversation was the 5th most popular Future of Mobility episode in 2023. ... Francesca Favarò is the Lead for the Safety Best Practices team at Waymo, where she coordinates external engagement with standards developing organizations Key topics in this conversation include: The absence of unreasonable risk for automated drivin...

Dan Trepanier is Chief Executive Officer at Arcadia Tractor Corp., who is building an autonomous vehicle for unstructured environment. Key topics in this conversation include: The challenges of field robotics Why ball picking at golf practice ranges present the perfect beachhead for Arcadia The importance of finding paid deployments and real-world learning opportunities, quickly An intro to entrep...

Jesse is the founder and CEO of Heartland, a leader in high-performance carbon-negative materials. Heartland’s drop-in additives help brands and suppliers reduce the cost, weight, and carbon footprint of the materials they use every day. Key topics in this conversation include: The importance of materials for sustainability Why Heartland chose to provide carbon-negative additives rather than compl...

Dr. Kelly Senecal is a co-founder and owner of Convergent Science and one of the original developers of CONVERGE, an industry-leading computational fluid dynamics software. Key topics in this conversation include: How Kelly has helped to shape the Future of Mobility podcast How the mobility world has evolved since Kelly’s 2021 book Why Life Cycle Analysis can be so misleading The importance of bei...

Sam Shapiro is a technologist and entrepreneur who is leading the charge to an electric future for the outdoor recreation industry. Key topics in this conversation include: Sam’s path from a tech company, to a DIY camper build, and ultimately Grounded Why electric is the right choice for a camper van Grounded’s recent 1500-mile road trip in their G2 An electric trailer, and Grounded’s future plans...

BJ Birtwell is the founder and executive producer of Electrify Expo, North America’s largest electric vehicle festival. Key topics in this conversation include: The importance of promoting EVs to get to the masses Why we’re past the early adopters phase of EVs Creating the best possible electric vehicle expo Designing experiences that make an impact The connection between excitement and sustainabi...

Carter Li is the Chief Executive Officer at SWTCH where he leads business strategy and planning. SWTCH is pioneering EV charging solutions for multifamily, commercial, and workplace properties across North America. Key topics in this conversation include: The importance of reliable charging solutions for multifamily housing and workplaces Why extended charging opportunities at home are so importan...

Matt Soule is the Co-founder & CEO of Parallel Systems, a company developing autonomous, battery-electric rail vehicles to move more trucking activity to rail. Key topics in this conversation include: How the US freight rail system works The challenges with traditional train architectures Why freight rail isn’t traditionally as timely or reliable as other means of transportation How Parallel S...

Milan Kocic is the founder and head of Hexagon's Sixth Sense accelerator program and open innovation platform. Key topics in this conversation include: Why most corporate attempts to work with startups fail How Hexagon’s Sixth Sense was designed to foster mutually beneficial outcomes How Milan thinks about innovation The importance of real world experience (and not just books or theoretical le...

Grace Donnelly is executive editor for Climate Tech VC. Grace previously appeared on Episode 117 of the Future of Mobility podcast: https://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/gracedonnelly/ Key topics in this conversation include: Climate tech funding trends from the first half of 2023 How CTVC provides value for their customer base and reader base Marine decarbonization Decarbonized fuels Links...

Nils Alstad is Chief Product Officer and Torkel Danielsson General Manager and Director of Product Management for Video Streaming at Phantom Auto, a pioneering Silicon Valley-based firm that specializes in the remote operation of vehicles ranging from forklifts and trucks to robots. Key topics in this conversation include: The challenge of latency, and why latency is such a critical issue for tele...

Vinay Shet is co-founder and CEO of Teleo, who is revolutionizing the construction industry by retrofitting traditional heavy equipment with autonomous and remote-operated technology to create supervised autonomous machines. Key topics in this conversation include: The challenging labor shortage for operating heavy equipment How Teleo blends teleoperations and autonomy The types of problems that T...

Kerry Renaud is CEO and managing director for WHILL & Scootaround North America. WHILL connects the world with personal transportation solutions and now provides autonomous mobility services for individuals with limited mobility, offered at airports and select public spaces around the world. Key topics in this conversation include: The importance of personal mobility The challenge of providing...

Corey is an automated mobility strategist, global thought leader, and innovator who is focused on commercialization strategies for the future of mobility and AV systems. Key topics in this conversation include: Where autonomous vehicles can provide meaningful benefits today How to effectively vet AV companies and technology The promise of campus applications for AVs The right types of problems tha...

Larry Burns is a pioneer in the electrified and automated vehicle space, highly successful industry veteran, and author of Autonomy: The Quest to Build the Driverless Car – And How It Will Reshape Our World. Larry joins the Future of Mobility podcast for a second time, previously appearing on Episode 93: https://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/larryburns/ Key topics in this conversation inclu...

Dakota Semler is the Chief Executive Officer of Xos, a Los Angeles-based technology company, fleet services provider, and manufacturer of Class 5 through Class 8 battery-electric vehicles. Key topics in this conversation include: The true driving forces for fleets to adopt electric vehicles The challenges of fleet electrification Why Xos is providing the Xos Hub as a stopgap to solve charging infr...

Quincy Lee is the CEO and Founder of Electric Era Key topics in this conversation include: The importance of reliability for EV charging Electric load growth and our broken electric grid The hardware and software design details of Electric Era’s PowerNode The nationwide virtual power plant that Electric Era plans to build How Quincy thinks about hiring and leadership Links: Show notes: http://bran...

Allen Schaeffer is Executive Director of the Diesel Technology Forum, a not-for profit educational organization of global leaders in advanced diesel engine, equipment, and fuels technology Key topics in this conversation include: Why diesel is a necessary part of our transportation and energy future The latest technologies that have made diesel engines far more efficient and environmentally friend...

Marc Buncher is the President and CEO of Siemens Mobility North America. Key topics in this conversation include: Why rail plays a key role in improving transportation in the coming years The path to widespread transit rail in the US by 2030 Improvements for freight rail The potential for hydrogen fuel cells and electrification Accessibility for transit rail Links: ● Show notes: http://brandonbart...

Dr. Siyu Huang is the co-founder and CEO of Factorial and its heritage company Lionano. Key topics in this conversation include: The fundamentals of solid state batteries The technical innovations enabling Factorial’s success How Factorial is approaching commercialization Factorial’s development with global OEMs including Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Hyundai Motor Company Links: ● Show notes: ht...

Key topics in this conversation include: The most promising use cases and applications for fleet EV adoption Why BEVs aren’t the right solution for all situations The importance of intelligent BEV introduction and utilization Revolv’s unique business model How the BEV industry today is similar to the solar industry 10 years ago Links: Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/scottda...

With Jake’s personal brand, the “Manufacturing Millennial,” he has created an audience of 70,000+ followers with over 80 million views on social media. Key topics in this conversation include: How and why Jake became the Manufacturing Millennial The importance of manufacturing as we strive for safer and more sustainable mobility solutions The most promising technologies in the manufacturing space...

Raj Iyer is a managing director within Deloitte’s M&A and Restructuring practice and Jason Coffman is the US Automotive Supplier lead within Deloitte’s US Automotive practice overseeing Consulting, Advisory, Tax, and Audit functions. Key topics in this conversation include: Key findings from Deloitte’s 2023 Supplier Study Their automotive supplier strategic option framework Where existing supp...

Josh Berg is Managing Director of Magna Technology Investments at Magna International. In this role, Berg oversees all direct investments, governance, portfolio management, and partnerships with startup companies, VC funds, accelerators and incubators. Key topics in this conversation include: Vertical and horizontal career building Prioritization, inspiration, and motivation The #1 test to determi...

Tyler Cole is host of the Net Zero Carbon podcast on FreightWaves. Tyler has sixteen years of commercial experience, with a focus on supply chains, low-carbon fuels, and renewable energy. Key topics in this conversation include: The most common drivers for ESG initiatives Why a range of technology solutions are required to make true sustainability impact Common misconceptions about sustainability...