In this session, Motiv CTO Jim Castelaz, will outline the hazards of treating the battery like an engine, when to embrace off-the-shelf components and when to design proprietary systems, the advantages to viewing an electric vehicle as a computer on wheels, and how a well-designed, and reliable EV operating system can set vehicles up for future improvements, such as autonomous driving, vehicle to grid communications and more through on-air updates.

Jim is a leading electric vehicle technologist and entrepreneur, trained as an electrical engineer with expertise in power and embedded systems. As founder and CTO, Jim champions Motiv's vision to Free Fleets from Fossil Fuels - a vision that summarizes his professional and personal passion. He has led Motiv from an idea in his living room to becoming the US market leader in common-platform electric truck and bus chassis. Jim's experience includes EV product and technology pioneering, capital formation, government grant development and execution, building IP portfolios and assembling a world-class team aligned around a shared purpose. Jim holds an MSEE from Stanford University and BS in Engineering and Economics from Harvey Mudd College. Jim lives in Alameda with his wife and 4 kids and is an avid alpinist and outdoorsman in his free time.

Motiv's vision is to accelerate the adoption of clean technology in the truck and bus market through a revolutionary approach to electric-drive vehicle (EV) integration and deployment. Motiv develops electric power control solutions that are component agnostic, allowing commercial EV's to be assembled with a high degree of customization and forward flexibility. Motiv's electric power control products enable truck and bus builders and fleet operators to leverage the existing industry supply chain, providing more cost effective EV solutions to the ultimate customer, fleet operators.