Electric vehicles hit the stage at SXSW
by June Chee | May 30, 2023
Music, film, comedy, and…electric transportation? For the first year ever, South by Southwest (commonly referred to as SXSW) hosted a conference track dedicated to energy with programming chockablock full of (you guessed it!) electric vehicles. Sharing space with over 300,000 creatives and artists from around the globe brought new life and kinship to electric mobility products, systems, and problem-solving.
By becoming an SXSW volunteer, I gained full access to the two-week-long festival and conference. With an all-star lineup of keynote speakers, interactive exhibits, and panel discussions, I had to manage my time wisely and as one veteran volunteer advised “embrace the FoMO” (fear of missing out).
Electric transportation was on full display throughout the city of Austin as I utilized CapMetro’s Rail, Lime’s electric scooters, and Tesla-riding Uber drivers to zip to and from events. Daimler Truck North America showcased its heavy-duty electric trucks with a virtual simulation. EV manufacturer Lordstown Motors shared videos of its commercial fleet trucks and Volkswagen complemented the city skyline with the ID.4 and upcoming ID.Buzz. The most cutting-edge was the prototype of an electric helicopter in the exhibition hall.
The conference sessions offered insight and inspiration from international industry leaders. In a panel discussion, vehicle designers from Ford and Volvo reflected on the culture of cars and shared how electric vehicles have broadened the definition of mobility. Electric vehicles can change our relationship with the rest of the world, by giving families more access to nature with a battery on wheels or providing grid stabilization through vehicle-to-grid technology. These ideas are redefining the relationship we have with cars and car makers want to help customers understand a vehicle’s potential beyond what they have historically known.
The task of designing electric vehicles has highlighted a gap between customers’ perceived mobility needs and their actual needs. Cocreating with customers to bring human-centered design to automobiles is starting to shift the narrative about what an electric vehicle is and gives car makers the opportunity to offer a better product to consumers. As Hawaiian Electric strives to co-create with our community, we are utilizing tools like Charge Up Hawaii and developing a new EV telematics pilot to understand transportation habits and incorporate customer feedback into the design of our services.
The panelists also acknowledged that EVs are only one piece of meeting our sustainable transportation goals and spoke to the amazing work happening in areas of public transit, micro-mobility, and vehicle subscriptions allowing more people to access convenient electric mobility. And what about the charging infrastructure needed to support this electric future? These vehicle makers unanimously stated that they’ll stay in their lane and not touch EV charging. An important reminder as Hawaiian Electric works to expand our public charging network and make-ready services.
In the pursuit of designing a new product with new possibilities, many are also thinking about the materials needed to manufacture electric vehicles and what happens to these products at their end of life. Did you know that it takes 450 pounds of minerals to manufacture an electric vehicle? “The EV Battery Supply Chain Paradox” hosted an expert discussion on this very topic and offered surprising insight into the complexity of battery production.
The US has set ambitious goals to electrify transportation by manufacturing electric vehicles, however, emphasis on the lithium minerals needed for EV batteries has somehow been overlooked. Although traces of all essential minerals have been found in the U.S., we struggle to establish mines due to the lengthy permitting process, taking an average of 10 years to secure a mining permit from the government.
To help achieve environmentally safe supply chains and meet our net zero goals, the panelists encouraged further policy development that would ensure we “are doing this right” with permitting reform for the U.S. mining industry, mandates for EV battery recycling, and the enforcement of better labor and environmental standards in mining countries like Africa and Indonesia. These may be key considerations as Hawaii sets policies and incentives to build its electric vehicle inventory and manage our waste stream.
It was inspiring to see electric transportation discussed alongside other topics like healthcare, art, education and tech. Having industry professionals, entrepreneurs, artists, and designers all together in one space sparked a buzz and led to more creative and honest discussions around transportation solutions. It reminded me that electric vehicles fit into a much larger ecosystem of transportation and the sustainable future that we are still trying to define.
What we are working toward is a better, cleaner future. One that values every person and the planet in all our innovations. The pursuit of transportation electrification is a once-in-a-lifetime system-level design opportunity and so much more than simply swapping one technology out for another. Let’s be aspirational and pragmatic as we pursue our cleaner energy future and think creatively in each aspect of our solutions.
June Chee is an electrification of transportation senior program manager at Hawaiian Electric.
