UACJ Automotive Whitehall Industries, a leading supplier of precision extruded aluminum automotive components and assemblies, has selected Northern Arizona for its new plant that will manufacture parts for electric vehicles. This significant investment will not only have a positive impact in northern Arizona, it further strengthens the state’s reputation as a hub for electric vehicle manufacturing.
The Grand Canyon State ranked No. 25 out of 50 states for creating policies that remove barriers for households and fleet owners to purchase and use electric vehicles, according to a recent report released by the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Policies could include offering incentives to buy EVs, adding more charging options and setting lower electric rates at preferred charging times.
Despite the challenges we’ve faced, Arizona is still on the rise and can be compared side by side with the most influential and powerful technology hubs across the nation and even the world. There are many technology sectors that will continue to push Arizona’s explosive growth forward in 2021. What follows Steve Zylstra’s emerging technologies expected to impact Arizona’s technology ecosystem in the coming year and beyond.
We’re living in an age where everything is connected and designated as “smart.” You likely have your smartphone connected to your doorbell, TV, refrigerator, thermostat, lighting, and your garage door. There’s also probably smart devices like Alexa or Google Home controlling many items in your house. The abundance of all of these smart devices can make life easier, but also make it all very confusing.
TechTalk enews provides a monthly round-up of member updates, technological advancements, milestones and awards, industry news and featured content on the Council’s annual sponsors. Check out what’s happening in the Council’s September 2020 issue of TechTalk!
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.
A big proponent of smart-city initiatives under Gov. Doug Ducey, Arizona Commerce Authority President and CEO Sandra Watson shared her insight on the work being done to elevate the Greater Phoenix region as a smart city during the Arizona Technology Council’s 2020 Smart City + IoT Conference.
As the trajectory toward urbanization increases, the Smart City + IoT Conference provides an excellent platform for highlighting Arizona’s success, facilitating collaboration and advancing new strategies. The event convenes the brightest minds in technology, business and government to explore the landscape of smart-city strategies, discuss emerging best practices and challenges to implementation, and examine the specific strategies needed to bring a smart-city vision to reality.
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.
Modular Mining CEO reflects on 40 years in the mining industry, seven AI predictions for 2020 from JDA Software, fintech startup Verdigris Holding launches program aimed at ‘unbanked’ individuals, University of Arizona is driving the local tech startup community like never before, PADT named as a Top Private Company by Arizona Corporate Excellence Awards, and more.