Cleantech Forward: The Future of EV Charging Infrastructure
Kicking off the new season of Cleantech Forward, our first episode dives into the most viable solutions for expanding our EV charging infrastructure so we can get more electric vehicles on the road and emit fewer greenhouse gases. It turns out some of the most promising shared EV charging solutions are being tested right now on university and college campuses across BC.
Jeanette Jackson is joined by industry experts Randy Zadra, Clean Transportation Advisor in Foresight’s BC Net Zero Innovation Network, and David Agosti, Director of Parking and Sustainable Mobility at Simon Fraser University. Together, they discuss the EV Charging Alliance, a Foresight working group helping campuses become shared-use EV charging hubs—serving residents, fleets, and communities alike.
We look at how these collaborative, mixed-use models could be the key to unlocking scalable, cost-effective EV infrastructure across the province and beyond.
Relevant Reports
Electric Vehicle Charging Alliance Roadmap
Further Reading
Ventures to Value Chains: Energy Storage for Transportation
Powering Canada’s Future with Vehicle to Grid Innovation
BC Cleantech Export Report: Transportation
About the Guests
Randy Zadra
Randy Zadra is managing director of Integris, and serves as advisor to several companies including the World Manufacturing Forum (WMF), PEM Motion GmbH, and Foresight Canada. He has also served as a board member of Automobility Enterprises, an electric vehicle company. His experience includes 15 years in senior executive roles in Montreal, Boston, and Washington D.C. with BCE Inc., Teleglobe, Orblynx, and Datawind. He also worked at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) where he led new international co-innovation initiatives, with project funding of over $200M, including many in the clean transportation sector. He has extensive experience in financing and advising early-stage technology companies and directed the Entrepreneurship and Development Program at the MIT Media Lab in Boston. He
taught several entrepreneurship courses, and served as a judge on the MIT business
plan competition for four years. He studied at the University of Windsor, Carleton University and the MIT Sloan School of Management.
David Agosti
David Agosti is the Director of Parking and Sustainable Mobility at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and is responsible for everything commuter-related across all three SFU campuses.
When looking at transportation, David analyzes consumer behaviour to better understand what motivates people to take different forms of transportation and what can be done to incentivize them to adopt more sustainable modes. Through incentivizing sustainable transportation methods, David’s department aims to help SFU achieve its 2025 Sustainability goal by reducing Scope 3 emissions from commuting by 25%.
During David’s 10+ years at SFU, he has seen transportation at Universities shift from parking-focused departments to a more holistic viewpoint that takes into account the economic, environmental, and sociocultural impacts of our collective transportation choices. David is currently focusing on the intersection of data & technology, consumer behavior, and sustainability in the transportation field in such areas as: electrification, micro-mobility, mode-shift, and connectivity.
About Foresight Canada
Foresight Canada helps the world do more with less, sustainably. As Canada's largest cleantech innovation and adoption accelerator, we connect public and private sectors to the world’s best clean technologies, de-risking and simplifying the adoption of innovative solutions that improve productivity, profitability, and economic competitiveness, all while addressing today’s most urgent climate challenges.
We don’t just accelerate innovation. We are innovation. From humble roots in Vancouver, Canada, Foresight has rapidly scaled into a national, globally connected non-profit, driving the adoption of sustainable innovation in major industries worldwide, working with 200+ industry partners and actively engaging with 145+ federal, provincial, and municipal governments, and Indigenous rights holders.
Since 2013, Foresight has supported 1580+ ventures, 150+ industry partners, and 300+ investor firms to deploy $2.31B in capital, achieve $570M in revenues, and create 9,430+ high-paying jobs. Our domestic and international engagement includes working in collaboration with 2,000+ rights holders and partners.
In the world we’re building, sustainability isn't a buzzword. It’s a fundamental driver of economic growth and prosperity, for people and planet. Find out how we’re redefining acceleration at foresightcac.com, and join the conversation on LinkedIn.
Credits
Host: Jeanette Jackson
Narrator: Tamara Stanners
Guests: Randy Zadra, David Agosti
Executive Producer: Jennifer Smith
Sound Engineer: Jordan Wong
Showrunner / Writer: Jessica Grajczyk
Editors: Kylie Williams & Stacey Armstrong
#CleantechForward #cleantech #EVcharging #BCNZIN
