Silicon Valley may need to change its name to Mobility Valley, judging by the number of startups and established players that are planting roots in this tech center. In the above interview, John Boesel, president and CEO of CALSTART, points to a few of his members – Tesla, Proterra (electric buses) and Motiv Power Systems (electric drive trains) – as examples of those that have ideas and plans that could disrupt the transport of people and goods. In a nutshell, the focus of CALSTART, which consists of over 150 corporate and agency members, is to support its members create a clean transportation industry.
He discusses the idea of extending California’s AB32 “cap and trade” program to include internal combustion engines. Speaking on a panel at the 2016 Joint Venture Silicon Valley State of the Valley Conference, Boesel, who is also on the advisory council of the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center at Stanford University, pointed to former Reagan administration, Secretary of State George Schultz’s idea for using revenue-neutral price signals to harness market forces to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Regardless of policy changes, the trend towards electrification will continue, as Boesel pointed out that there has been more than a doubling in battery range in the past 6 years for electric cars. His comments echo the view of the audience at the Joint Venture Silicon Valley 2016 State of the Valley Conference, where 45% predicted that the majority of vehicles in Silicon Valley will be electric within 10 years, while 72% believe that within 15 years the majority of cars will be electric. If that’s the case, we may see significant changes to businesses like gas stations and auto repair shops in this former Valley of the Heart’s Delight.
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