Dave Stenson ‘86 participated in an event sponsored by The Hill titled, “The Next generation of Electric Transportation: Innovation in Technology & Power,” on November 12, 2014 in Washington D.C.

After working for General Motors for 29 years, Stenson founded Inventev to pursue a new technology that attempts to bring utility-grade power to small and mid-size daily work trucks.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and Congresswoman Janice Hahn (D-California) were the keynote speakers at the event

“I think in the last five years, there’s been a lot of experimentation particularly with regard to electrification,” Stenson said. “Keep in mind, the bread and butter of the auto industry is high volume, it’s not niche plays. At this point they view electrification as a niche play.”

Stenson projects a positive outlook for high volume light duty vehicles in the next 5-10 years but also believes that the shift from traditional vehicles to electric vehicles will first occur for small and medium size work trucks and fleets.

“The critical path is the economic value proposition for the retail customer …” Stenson said. “... It’s all about a rational economic choice for the customer driven by lower costs.”

Melissa Lavinson, Vice President for Federal Affairs, PG&E; David Meisel, Senior Director of Transportation & Aviation Services, PG&E; Tom Roston, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Security & Energy Restoration, Department of Energy; and Brian Wolff, executive Vice President, EEI, also participated in the panel discussions.

The full discussion and photos can be by viewed online.