EV & Charging Expo gets curated Electric Autonomy reading list

A collection of stories from our catalogue on companies in the program to help attendees get the most from EV & Charging Expo 2024

It’s just one week until Electric Autonomy‘s EV & Charging Expo 2024 hosts speakers from Volvo Trucks Canada, Longo’s, Kruger Energy, BMO, Siemens, North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE), Indigenous Clean Energy, Alectra Utilities, Purolator, Canada Infrastructure Bank, 7Gen, Natural Resources Canada, Propulsion Québec, Toronto Hydro, Volkswagen Group Canada Inc. and more.

Attendees can expect two days of informative panel and discussion sessions, scores of exhibitors on the show floor, new industry announcements and multiple networking and Q&A opportunities. Anyone who still hasn’t got a ticket for the conference on May 1-2 can register here. (Get one while they last!)

To help prepare for the incredible conference day-of, we’ve assembled a curated Electric Autonomy reading list for the following sessions so EV & Charging Expo attendees can do some briefing ahead of time.

Finding funding and financing: Connecting with the right ecosystem partners

Whether you are seeking financing for a major infrastructure project like multi-site public charging, want to install EV charging at your building or retail site, or are one of the Expo exhibitors looking to scale your business in North America, our panelists — who represent the key federal organizations funding the EV transition — will help you understand the funding available, what kinds of projects their organization supports, and answer your questions about their programs.

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Green grocers: Why supermarkets are ideal electric vehicle charging sites

Customers shopping for groceries can now fill their carts and cars at the same time. Join Longo’s, charging provider Jule, and the mastermind behind the EcoCharge network of 100+ fast-charging stations at IGA stores across Quebec and New Brunswick as they explain how the shopping and EV charging experiences are a perfect match.

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Smarter charging, from energy management to AI

To efficiently fuel a fleet of electric vehicles, you’ll need software to manage the flow of electrons to your plugs. At the start, you may simply be looking to avoid costs from peak demand or to manage electrical loads on site. But smart charging can do so much more. This panel will explain how to integrate telematics and dispatch software so you can add vehicle detection and state of charge, calculate the energy needs of specific routes, and even predict the unexpected. The result? Reduced costs, optimized onsite charging and consistency in meeting the needs of your operations.

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The EV Charging Station of the Future

The conversation around public charging tends to focus on it as an engineering problem. But for widespread adoption, we need to think about the human element. How do we design better charging sites and what can we learn from how EV drivers are using these plugs today? And what could the ultimate EV charging station of the future look like if we thought about this from the ground up?

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Getting Connected: What utilities, fleets and policy makers need to know to get us to net-zero

Fleet operators face significant hurdles when planning and building charging infrastructure. This includes regulatory barriers such as electricity pricing, planning barriers and bylaw restraints, supply chain and capacity gaps, among others. This panel brings together fleets, utilities, and experts to identify the key strategies needed to overcome those barriers and facilitate fleet charging at scale.

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Powering up parking for profit – and planet

One of the highest utilization sites in Canada on the ChargePoint network might surprise you: It’s a university campus parking lot, where the charging stations will pay for themselves in under 2 years. Join us to understand how carbon credits can generate lucrative revenue for parking providers of all kinds. Discover how to attract and orchestrate EV drivers with software-enabled queues and strategic pricing to increase usage and create a virtuous cycle. And learn from a leader in ancillary revenue on what the business model looks like to increase ROI, meet your sustainability goals and make the most of your existing land assets.

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Charging ahead: Global best practices for electrifying the rideshare industry

Uber has an ambitious goal to become a fully electric, zero-emission platform in Canada, the U.S., and Europe by 2030. Early progress shows drivers on the Uber platform are making the switch from gas to electric faster than the general public. But we have now graduated from the early-adoption stage among drivers on the Uber platform. The next phase of adoption is more challenging. This will require partnerships across the ecosystem — governments, non-profits, industry — to increase affordability and create a second-hand EV supply, improve charging infrastructure and target incentives towards high-mileage drivers like those working in rideshare.

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Delivering the future: Zero emissions last-mile fleets 

How are innovative delivery companies tackling the emissions from this final mile? Listen to industry leaders share what they’re learning about real-life technology choices, costs and business cases, and how to operate and optimize to get their drivers in zero emission vehicles to bring goods to our stores, businesses and home.

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From PepsiCo to Penske, the latest insights from Run on Less Electric’s EV fleet deployments and depots

Tracking ten electrified fleet depots, each with more than 15 battery-electric commercial vans, trucks or semis on site, for 18 days, NACFE’s Run on Less Electric Depot program offers up incomparable public data for other fleets to learn from, including the energy used on site, the mileage of the trucks each day, idling time, average speed, number of deliveries made, weather and so much more.

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Smart grids and smarter EV charging: Understanding V1G, V2G and VPP opportunities

As buildings, fleets and facilities roll out charging infrastructure, and utilities look ahead to grid upgrades, how can innovative programs tap into the potential of smart charging, bi-directional charging and battery storage as distributed energy resources to benefit the grid, enable broader EV adoption and offer innovative cost saving and revenue streams for entrepreneurial real estate and commercial customers?

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Urban public charging

Who are the ideal partners for municipalities looking to deploy charging stations in their communities? This expert panel featuring the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) — the largest municipal parking operator in North America and the largest operator of municipally-owned EV charging in Canada — will discuss the role for both municipalities and private site hosts in increasing public charging infrastructure in our densely populated urban centres.

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Workshop: What first responders need to know

This workshop equips first responders with critical knowledge and skills for managing incidents involving electric vehicles. Participants will learn about how to safely handle electrical risks, battery fires, and emergency shutdown procedures. Through hands-on training and expert guidance, attendees will gain the confidence to safely and effectively respond to EV-related emergencies.

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Is EV charging the new necessity for commercial real estate?

In the near future, drivers will expect to top up their batteries on the go, much the way we plug in our cellphones or join a WiFi network wherever we are. Providing public charging will become essential for shopping malls and office buildings to attract and retain customers, clients and commuters. What are the business models, partnerships and funding available to real estate owners and investors to get this off the ground and what are the best practices to run EV charging onsite?

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Workshop: Understanding the difference between electric vehicles and combustion engines for service and maintenance

You’ll get a walkthrough of the distinct components of an electric powertrain and gain a good understanding of how EVs function differently from legacy engine-driven cars. If you’re looking to prepare your fleet for the transition, this is an excellent introduction to the inner workings of this new technology.

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Advanced charging solutions for MHDV electric fleets

Charging infrastructure is anything but one size fits all. In this session, you’ll hear the unique solutions being deployed across the medium- and heavy-duty spectrum, from a retail giant looking to enable its transporters to expand their electrified routes to a consumer packaged goods company running electric big rigs that travel more than 1,000 km daily, seven days a week, to replace a diesel truck. These clever adaptations unlock solutions for all kinds of fleets that might not have straightforward fleet depot infrastructure and operations.

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Driving EV uptake from coast to coast to coast

Most of the work in the EV sector goes into addressing adoption in very specific conditions. If we really want a countrywide solution, then design factors, programming, and policy that affect places beyond the southern border need to come into the conversation. This panel of Indigenous thought leaders will highlight the opportunities when companies and organizations are truly responsive to communities in all regions, whether urban, rural, or remote.

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Cold weather? Keep trucking

Yes, electric powertrains start when it’s -20 (even more reliably than diesel). No, charging stations don’t freeze. Discover the truth behind common misconceptions as this panel delves into practical experiences and data-driven insights into how electric vehicles perform in cold conditions. Learn about best practices for reducing range loss, ensuring optimal charging and other tips to adapt electric truck operations for challenging climates.

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We look forward to welcoming everyone on May 1-2. Once again, to secure your ticket for the EV & Charging Expo, visit here.