Public Lecture - The Electric Vehicle: Past, Present or Future?

'IN PERSON' EVENT ONLY

The Melbourne Energy Institute invites you to a public lecture on Electric Vehicle Integration by Professor Lluc Canals Casals, Professor at the Project and Construction Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (BarcelonaTECH).

Electric vehicle technology has been around for over 140 years. Despite numerous attempts to compete with traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, it’s clear the era of electric vehicles has arrived, with the shift primarily driven by sustainability.

As electrification gains momentum, historically separate sectors, such as transport, electricity, construction and communications are converging. Transportation is increasingly reliant on the electricity grid, and understanding how this transition impacts the grid, whether as a challenge or opportunity, depends on our understanding and management of the transformation.

In this lecture, Professor Lluc Canals Casals will explore strategies for electric vehicle integration and discuss whether a technology from two centuries ago could be the solution for the challenges of the next century.

Discussion will be moderated by Professor Nando Ochoa, Professor of Smart Grids and Power Systems at the University of Melbourne.

SPEAKER:

Dr Lluc Canals Casals, Professor at the Project and Construction Engineering Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTECH

Lluc Canals Casals earned his master's degree in engineering in 2005 at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). After spending seven years in the automotive industry, he moved into academia, completing a PhD in 2016, again at the UPC but in collaboration with car manufacturer SEAT from the VW group. His thesis focused on electric vehicle batteries and how to maximise their use and profitability. Lluc completed his post-doc at the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), researching flexibility markets and the interactions between the grid and electric vehicles. In 2020 he became a full-time professor at the UPC in the Projects and Construction Engineering Department. Lluc is techno-sceptic and a great defendant of the Jevons’ paradox.

MODERATOR:

Professor Nando Ochoa Pizzali, Professor of Smart Grids and Power Systems, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, The University of Melbourne

Prof Nando Ochoa Pizzali holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical and electrical engineering from UNI (Peru), and a Research MSc and a PhD in Electrical Power Engineering, both from UNESP Ilha Solteira (Brazil).

Nando is a Professor of Smart Grids and Power Systems at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He is an IEEE PES Distinguished Lecturer, an IEEE Senior Member, and a past Editorial Board Member of the IEEE Power and Energy Magazine.