Breaking into the Energy Industry

Last week, I wrote about Zum’s exciting contract with Howard County Public Schools and how leading a growing company can sometimes make you feel like an outsider. This is especially true when entering a new industry. As we look at switching our internal combustion buses to EV fleets, Zum is entering the world of electrified mobility and energy more broadly.

Today, I’m learning more than ever—about advances in battery technology and European climate regulations. This is exciting but can also be overwhelming. Often, I find myself looking for quick, actionable insights.

As we electrify our bus fleets in the coming months, I’ll share such insights to process what I’m learning and begin building a movement around electric mobility and the global energy transition. Here are my three first:?

One, batteries are getting better every day. This one seems obvious, but as we electrify passenger and enterprise transportation, we must watch the batteries powering our EVs. Earlier this year, CATL, the largest lithium-ion battery manufacturer in the world, announced a battery that—uses a condensed (semi-solid) electrolyte instead of the liquid electrolyte used in traditional lithium batteries—will have an energy density of 500 Wh/kg. (For reference, the batteries in Tesla vehicles have an energy density of 200 to 300 Wh/kg.) With the CATL battery, an EV could travel much farther on a single charge. That’s exciting, but—

Two, it’s important to be critical of how we’re sourcing our minerals and batteries. Shipping anything overseas, whether raw materials or finished products, has a large carbon footprint, and relying on foreign companies for critical parts of our supply chain is risky. I wouldn’t say I like it, but energy—who has access and who provides it—is a geopolitical issue. Look at the way in Ukraine and what that’s done to global oil and gas prices. Or take a domestic example: in the 2000s, American manufacturer A123 developed the lithium iron phosphate battery (LFP), which today is growing in popularity among EV OEMs, Tesla among them. After the rise and fall of A123, this technology now resides predominantly in China. (For more on A123, and the importance of American industrial policy, check out The Carbon Copy’s excellent podcast, hosted by @Stephen Lacey. It’s one of my favorites when I’m commuting.)?

Three, while we need to be informed about geopolitics and technological innovation, let’s remind ourselves why we’re doing this in the first place. When I see yellow Zum buses transporting students around the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Seattle, I’m proud of our work—yet we still have a long way to go. Traditional medium and heavy-duty vehicles are highly pollutive, and our kids deserve to breathe cleaner air on their way to and from school. Whether we’re from America or someplace else, academics or investors, private companies or NGOs, we’re all after the same thing—doing what’s right for the next generation.?

Individually, we are outsiders. Together, we have the power to decarbonize our global economy and build a future in which our children will not only live but thrive. More to come.