Electric Vehicles: Australian Electric Vehicles Could Deliver 5 Snowy 2.0s

DURATION

1 hour and 20 minutes

SESSION DESCRIPTION

This session will discuss the benefits and challenges of integrating electric vehicles into the grid from the perspectives of vehicle manufacturers, charging operators, electricity network operators, state governments, and researchers.

Chair: Dr Bjorn Sturmberg, Research Leader, Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program, The Australian National University

Speakers:

Tim Washington, CEO, JET Charge

Ben Warren, National Manager - Electrification and Mobility, Nissan Motor Corporation

Stephen Bygrave, Director Climate Resilience and Net Zero Emissions, NSW Government

Travis Kauschke, Future Networks Engineer, SA Power Networks

Dr Bjorn Sturmberg

Research Leader, Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program, The Australian National University

Dr Bjorn Sturmberg is a Research Leader in the Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program at The Australian National University where he works on research, development, and demonstrations of low carbon energy and transport systems. Dr Sturmberg’s background includes a PhD in theoretical physics and an Innovation Fellowship from the Myer Foundation; implementing Australia’s first solar + storage apartment microgrid; and leading a startup that makes solar work for rental properties from inception to acquisition.

Tim Washington

CEO, JET Charge

Founder of JET Charge, a leading supplier, installer and manager of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Australia. Before founding JET Charge in 2014, Tim was a corporate lawyer for 5 years specialising in mergers and acquisitions in the Energy sector, before transitioning to the business world as the CEO of an international manufacturing business. Tim’s career passion is to find ways to achieve environmental change for economic reasons.

Ben Warren

National Manager - Electrification and Mobility, Nissan Motor Corporation

As the National Manager for Electrification and Mobility, Ben is charged with driving Nissan’s EV strategy in Australia as well as advocating for and supporting the role electric vehicles can play within the broader energy ecosystem. Ben is passionate and buoyant about the future of motoring, a future which will see changes to how vehicles are driven, powered and integrated into wider society.

Stephen Bygrave

Director Climate Resilience and Net Zero Emissions, NSW Government

Dr Stephen Bygrave has worked on climate change and environment issues at the international, national and local levels for over 25 years across government, academia, the private and not for profit sectors. Stephen spent three years as CEO of national think tank Beyond Zero Emissions and two years at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris. Stephen has spent more than ten years with the Senior Executive Service in various government agencies at the state and federal level including the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Department of Climate Change, Department of Environment and Heritage, Department of Agriculture, as well as Executive Director Climate Change and Sustainability in the ACT Government and Director Climate Resilience and Net Zero Emissions in the NSW Government.

Stephen has worked on a number of significant environmental reforms including development of the carbon pricing mechanism (2007-12), the national renewable energy target (1997-2020), the 100% renewables strategy in ACT Government and net zero emissions strategies in NSW and ACT Governments. He has been Adjunct Professor at UNSW and UQ and has a PhD in Resource and Environmental Management from the Australian National University, focused on village scale renewable energy projects in Fiji, Kiribati and Solomon Islands.

Travis Kauschke

Future Networks Engineer, SA Power Networks

As an electrical engineer working in SA Power Networks Strategy department Travis Kauschke has been working at the forefront of the distributed energy transition in South Australia. For the past five years developing strategies, piloting trials, and collaborating across industry. He has a detailed understanding of the issues unmanaged distributed energy resources (DER) present, as well as their effect on customers and the market. Travis has also developed sophisticated models to understand the impact on DER and forecast their potential impact on the distribution network.