Auto and energy with BMW, Williams and Aimava

Gaule's Question Time

This is part of series of programs Aimava.com has been leading to support our clients and Corporate Venturing eco system as we face the health and economic impact of the pandemic.
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There were plenty of opportunities to share perspectives and questions with peers on the call, these have been edited out of this recording.
Key contributors to this session
Ulrich Quay - Leading BMW i Ventures, BMW's Corporate Venture Fund in California
Stephen Newbury - Williams Advanced Engineering
Andrew Gaule, CEO of Aimava
Aimava has been supporting ventures, corporate innovation units and boards of global companies on their strategic development for many years. Please reach out to us for a confidential discussion on any aspect of your current business model or future plans.
Key discussion points
· The US and Europe continue to offer compelling opportunities for investment in new Automotive and Energy technology and services, however, there is a growing focus on China due to the scale and speed of new technology development and deployment, including New Energy Vehicles, MaaS, Autonomous Vehicles and Artificial Intelligence, and China’s low carbon energy policy.
· The low carbon business models and data-rich services for the Automotive and Energy sectors of the future will depend on a broad range of different customer segments and be determined by each respective use-case i.e. private car, leased car, shared car, taxi, rental, autonomous etc. In addition, with less people owning private cars in the future, it is expected that a significant proportion of cars will be operator-owned which would therefore create a shift from an OEM to operator-owner driven business model.
· Unlike an Internal Combustion Engine which benefits from high utilisation, a battery operated vehicle will need to have different performance parameters which consider the impact of fast charging, load and utilisation on battery life. Likewise in a rental scenario, high turnover rate, induction charging for a battery-operated vehicle will be more practical than using tethered cables.
· Although the commercial viability of V2G is yet to be proven, particularly given the battery cost, battery design solutions, including hybrid and modular batteries with priorities and pricing determined by the smart grid, together with safety considerations (which might be able to be transferred across from legacy applications), are already a key component of the new Automotive-Energy value chain.
· The use of alternative energy, such as Hydrogen for long haul vehicles, aviation and rail is gaining traction in the US, Europe and China with the development of a national strategy for Hydrogen underway in a number of these markets and new technology to lower the cost of production also being developed. However, whilst Hydrogen is a strategic future consideration for many Energy majors, it is not yet economically viable beyond a niche use case.
Useful links & Content
We have produced a number of podcasts on automotives, mobility and charging infrastructure. You can subscribe and listen to Daniel Bentham of ubitricity, Rupert Mitchell of WM Motor, Angela Hultberg head of sustainable mobility for Ikea and more at https://gaulesqt.podomatic.com.
Videos of the team in China last year at a super charging station for BYD taxis and a Nio battery switching station can be found on our Aimava Video Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyKmxeVOHET_KAQNVwxOvhQ