Public lecture: the electric vehicle - past, present or future?
The Melbourne Energy Institute held 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 explored strategies for electric vehicle integration and discussed whether a technology from two centuries ago could be the solution for the challenges of the next century.
Discussion was moderated by Professor Nando Ochoa, Professor of Smart Grids and Power Systems at the University of Melbourne.
PRESENTATION SLIDES
SPEAKER
Dr Lluc Canals Casals
Professor at the Project and Construction Engineering Department
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (BarcelonaTECH)
Lluc Canals Casals obtained his master's degree in engineering in 2005 at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). After seven years in the automotive industry, he moved into academia, completing a PhD in 2016, again at the UPC but in collaboration with the car manufacturer SEAT from the VW group. His thesis focused on electric vehicle batteries and how to maximise their use and profitability. Following his PhD, 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 UPC in the Projects and Construction Engineering Department. Lluc is a techno-sceptic and a great defendant of the Jevons’ paradox.
MODERATOR
Professor Nando Ochoa Pizzali
Professor of Smart Grids and Power Systems
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.