Driving with Dunne: A ZoZoGo Podcast‪!‬ ZoZoGo

Powerhouse Ventures invests in early-stage software companies that save energy, save time – or both. Of the 33 companies in Powerhouse portfolio, several operate in the battery and electric charging arena. A few years ago, Ms Thompson made a monumental shift from the oil and gas industry in Texas to the clean energy focus that defines her work at Powerhouse. In our conversation, she introduces us to her approach to assessing software startups. What does she look for in the founder? And what does she look for in the business model? What are some examples of software companies that are making a real-time impact on the overall battery and charging experience?

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Electric vehicles remain expensive, out of reach for most customers. The average price of EVs sold in America last year was $65,000. The story in Europe was similar. China offers more affordable EVs, but they are driven by batteries that deliver dramatically lower range or power – or both. Who wants to buy an EV that is not quick off the start ? Or one that causes you range anxiety -- and sometimes range panic? Are we stuck in EVs-are-too-damn-expensive land forever? No, at least not for long, according to Vincent Pluvinage, the fascinating scientist, physicist and co-founder and CEO of OneD Battery Sciences. Born in Belgium, educated at Michigan and Stanford, Dr. Pluvinage now spends his time at the OneD labs in Palo Alto devising ways to make batteries less expensive. The secret ingredient is silicon. But as you will learn from listening to Vincent, making better batteries is never simple or easy. Let's find out why.

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In late 2022 and early 2023, customers from Ford, Rivian and Bolt separately reported an unusual and slightly terrifying experience while fast charging their vehicles. In the middle of their charge sessions, customers recalled hearing a large boom, then a pop. Seconds later, their charging stopped and their battery ceased to work. Tow trucks were summoned to take their vehicles to the nearest service center. EV expert John Voelcker joins us today to go deeper into what exactly happened. And he sheds light on why we are still far away from a good experience at most public fast-charting locations in America. What are the stubborn barriers to a better experience? And how long must we wait before fast charging will be stress free? Listen to John Voelcker on this episode of the Driving With Dunne podcast.

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Graphite is a core component of lithium-ion batteries, accounting for up to 30% of the value of a battery cell. Today, Chinese companies utterly dominate refining, producing 93% of all processed graphite globally. America is now hell-bent building its own batteries and battery supply chains. Since 2021, American car makers and battery manufacturers have announced more than $60 billion in new battery plants across the United States. Still, the US is totally reliant on China for graphite. But that is changing fast. Meet Nico Cuevas, Founder, Urbix Resources, a Mesa Arizona startup specializing in clean and efficient graphite processing. Founded in 2014, Cuevas and his co-founders are racing to scale up innovative processing of graphite that they import from dozens of mines around the world, including from Brazil, Turkey and China. Will Urbix be able to compete with China, the graphite beast?

Today’s charging experience in North America is, to be blunt, not good. New EV owners meet disappointment in the very first weeks of ownership. Some chargers are broken. Others are slow. Still others fail at software handshakes. When EV owners charge at a third party station like Electrify America or EVgo there are are too many “cooks” and too much complexity. I one owns the customer experience. Autel Energy North America aims to lift the “joy meter” of charging by delivering high quality chargers to both homes and public charging stations. John Thomas, COO, tells us how.

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Imagine a future in which car buyers choose a make and model based not on acceleration, handling and braking but on their digital cockpit experience. How well does the navigation work? How rich are the media options? How quick and intuitive is the interface. Guess what? That future is already here. People, especially younger people, want to enjoy their digital life inside the vehicles while they are in stop and go traffic delivering kids to school or going to work. In a recent survey of iPhone users, 67% of respondents said that their next car must offer Apple Carplay compatibility or they would look somewhere else. This is very good news for Apple of course. And for Google Play. And to Tesla. But it could be disastrous news for legacy automakers who continue to struggle with software development and execution. Richard Windsor, leading global expert on future technology, calls it an existential crisis.

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