Google pledges to be carbon free, Northern Arizona University is awarded $1.5 million grant for climate-change research, Zero Mass Water is now SOURCE Global PBC, Tesla outlines ambition to halve cost of batteries, why Lucid’s CEO thinks the Air will be a success, Footprint is named to FORTUNE’s 2020 Change the World List, and more. Check out the complete update.
While incremental progress has been made in varying degrees across the country, cities and communities continue to face complex challenges, including lack of charging infrastructure for greater adoption of electric vehicles, infrastructure upkeep, population growth and sustainability issues. The 2020 Smart City and IoT Conference provided the perfect opportunity for sharing current advances in the development and implementation of smart cities and IoT in Arizona, across the United States and beyond.
Innovative companies, agencies and cities are playing a significant role in enabling the growth of Arizona’s transportation electrification market and electric-vehicle charging infrastructure. A distinguished panel of experts from the Nikola Motors Company, Silicon Foundry, Exponent and the City of Peoria, Ariz. discussed the economic development benefits and infrastructure challenges of increased adoption of electric vehicles, as well as how the growth of the electrification market and EV-charging infrastructure can play a role in Arizona’s economic recovery plan for the state. Moderated by Dominic Papa, Arizona Commerce Authority’s vice president of Smart State Initiative, it was a fantastic discussion and well worth a listen.
Touts the operation as the first greenfield electric-vehicle site in the United States, Lucid Motors is currently building its 720,000-square-foot, electric-vehicle factory. If all goes as planned, a luxurious new battery-electric sedan will roll off its production line by year’s end.
Arizona is fortunate to have an outstanding combination of a pro-technology government, regulations promoting growth and innovation, a low cost of living, a better quality of life and great research universities compared to other traditional tech hubs. These factors make our state a wonderful place to launch a startup, test new technology and grow a business. The influx of innovation is surging, and the nation’s technology industry is paying attention.
You might say we’re making headway on the freeway leading toward our future. The biggest imprint left by technology in Arizona this year were players of the new passenger economy. We’re all sharing this great ride as our entire economy is expected to continue its upward trajectory, thanks to technology.
You don’t have to be a gearhead like me to know we’re at the front end of the trend moving the state into a new vehicle arena. For those wondering whether an electric car is for them, know that over time Lucid Motors will offer a range of vehicles at different price points as they build on their successes. And that’s just one auto maker.
An innovative all-electric approach to keep truck drivers comfortable when they are parked and resting at the company’s Phoenix facility. Not only does this approach make the air cleaner and more breathable by eliminating the need to idle semi-truck engines, but it also saves the company money.
The Arizona Technology Council’s annual Smart City Summit recently convened the brightest minds in technology and other business and government thought leaders to explore the landscape of smart city strategies, discuss emerging best practices and examine the specific strategies needed to bring a smart city vision to reality.
The Arizona Technology Council in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) present the third annual Smart City + IoT Conference on Thursday, September 12, 2019, where attendees will discover how technology can be harnessed for more successful and sustainable cities.