Jamestown BPU Retool ’22 Conference Keynote Speaker John Ellis presents at Northwest Arena (October 19, 2022)

Retool ’22 Climate Tech Conference Keynote speaker John Ellis says exponential change is coming to the automotive industry.

Ellis, a best-selling author, software expert, and former global technologist with Ford Motor company, spoke at the Northwest Arena Wednesday morning. He told the audience that his presentation was intended to provoke.

Ellis said we’ve been in Transportation 1.0, which represents the individually owned vehicle business model with the majority of those vehicles having a combustion-engine. He said we’re now moving into Transportation 2.0, “It’s hallmark characteristics are a shared-vehicle ownership model, autonomy of some form and level, and most important – an electric vehicle.”

Ellis said individual ownership of cars is disappearing in the United States, citing a AAA study that it costs $10,728 a year to own and operate a vehicle and another study in larger markets that showed 66% of car trips are less than seven miles.

He said car sharing in China is booming, where over 150 million residents have a driver’s license but do not have a car, “We have a burgeoning growth over 10% of the economy (in China) that is shared vs. less than 1% here in the U.S. And they’re expecting to grow the sharing. Why is that significant? This past year, China was responsible for 30-something million vehicle units. U.S. used to be at it’s high 17 million and it’s now down to 15.5 and declining. China will serve as an over-sized indicator of where the market goes.”

Ellis said on top of electric vehicles being more efficient than fossil-fuel cars, policy is driving the move to EVs with enacted bans on combustion engines by 2035 by the European Union, China and even here in New York State, “You may say to yourself, ‘Do I really care about the E.U.?’ Well, let me be very, very, very clear. The E.U., specifically Germany, is home to the top three Tier 1’s in the world. If the top three Tier 1’s in the world are forced to become EV Tier 1’s, the auto industry by definition will go EV.”

Ellis said software plays an over-sized role in the change from fossil fuel to electric, saying how Tesla uses software to differentiate its products versus hardware. He referenced a KPMG report that stated by 2030 many of the major automakers won’t exist.

Ellis said exponential change has been seen with adoption of new technology and that people should expect it with transportation.

BPU Retool ’22 Conference Keynote Speaker Clint Wilder and MC Mike McKay (October 18, 2022)

We’re halfway through the transition to modern energy according to Retool ’22 Conference keynote speaker Clint Wilder.

Wilder is the Editorial Director for CleanEdge which is a developer and publisher of stock indexes tracking clean energy, transportation, water, and the grid.

Speaking at Northwest Arena Tuesday morning, Wilder cited five key drivers that are accelerating the transition from fossil fuel to alternative energies such as wind and solar power. He said the first driver is the dramatically declining costs of solar, wind and battery storage, “We have a major shift in investment dollars from fossil fuels into clean energy. Public support in poll after poll in the U.S., and I’ll have some more information about this, something like 70% of Americans support more resources and policy support for clean energy.”

Wilder said there has been an 85% drop in prices for solar and wind since 2010, which has made it competitive with natural gas.

Wilder said another driver is the development of the smart grid and electrification. He said smart grids support the way energy is digitized and stored, making for more efficient distribution. Wilder cited how California’s smart grid was able to handle a 10-day heatwave with no rolling blackouts as seen in the past.

He said policy support is another driver, seen in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act; and Infrastructure and Jobs Act, “So this is the biggest federal support that we’ve ever seen by far to put resources behind growth of clean energy. It’s something that we advocates in the industry have been calling for, waiting for, for a long time and it’s finally happened.”

Wilder said these policies in the last two years have seen immediate impact with multi-billion dollar manufacturing investments being made in the United States.

The Jamestown BPU’s Retool ’22 Conference continues Wednesday and will feature keynote speaker John Ellis at the Northwest Arena. For more information, visit jamestownbpu.com

Jamestown BPU Retool ’22 Keynote Speakers Clint Wilder and John Ellis

The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities‘ Retool ’22 Climate Tech Conference kicks off today.

The conference on Monday features afternoon visits to Chautauqua Institution and Robert H. Jackson Center with the full slate of panels, guest speakers, and other activities taking place Tuesday and Wednesday at the Northwest Arena in downtown Jamestown.

The three-day conference will feature industry leaders speaking about market opportunities that exist in climate technology, innovative ideas already being implemented in new business ventures and financial and technical resources available to support business development.

Representatives from secondary and higher educational institutions also will address new careers and workforce training.

Keynote speakers include Clint Wilder, a best-selling author and analyst who has covered the clean energy and climate tech industries for nearly two decades. He is the co-author of two books: The Clean Tech Revolution: The Next Big Growth and Investment Opportunity, and Clean Tech Nation: How the U.S. Can Lead in the New Global Economy. Wilder will give his keynote address at 9:15 a.m., Tuesday, October 18 on Rink A at the Northwest Arena.

John Ellis, best-selling author, software expert and former global technologist with Ford Motor Company, will present an address on opportunities and advancements in supply chain manufacturing and the transportation industry. He is Ellis & Associates’ Managing Director and is an expert in new and emerging transportation technology and how it is changing the way cities, airports and transportation authorities manage public spaces. Ellis is scheduled to give his keynote address at 9:15 a.m., Wednesday, October 19.

The Retool’22 Conference is expected to bring over 200 manufacturers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and educators to Jamestown.

A full schedule and registration information for the conference is available at jamestownbpu.com.