Organizers of the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo recently launched the Investor Summit.
Taking place May 11 during the ACT Expo, the Summit is the first event of its kind to focus solely on the wide variety of private and public investment in the rapidly growing advanced transportation market, organizers said.
Driven by an accelerated global focus on emission reductions and corporate sustainability commitments, stakeholders in the commercial transportation sector are bringing clean vehicles and technologies to market at record speed. The Summit will leverage the thousands of attendees ACT Expo brings together annually, industry stakeholders looking to stay current on the latest clean fuels and advanced commercial vehicle technologies driving the future of transportation. The Summit will provide a forum for investors, entrepreneurs, top OEMs and suppliers, fleet customers, and policy makers to network and share information on the latest investment trends and opportunities in economically and environmentally sustainable transportation.
“From innovative start-ups to global OEMs, and everywhere in between, we are seeing significantly accelerated investment in the clean transportation sector,” said Erik Neandross, CEO of Gladstein, Neandross & Associates, a clean transportation consulting firm that produces the ACT Expo. “With billions of dollars pouring into the development of ultra-clean and zero-emission technologies and fuels, a trend that will only continue in the years ahead, we recognized an opportunity for industry stakeholders to gain greater insight into the markets for these products by understanding where and how investments are being directed.”
The inaugural event will feature two keynote addresses throughout the day:
- Jay Craig, CEO and president of Meritor, a global supplier of drivetrain, mobility, braking and aftermarket solutions for commercial vehicles. Craig will give an overview of how an established industry leader structures a strategic investment portfolio to support future growth based on the rapidly changing technology landscape and market within which the company must operate.
- Michael Linse, founder and managing director of Linse Capital, a growth equity investing firm focused on innovative transportation and energy technology companies, including ChargePoint, Valens and Proterra. Linse will provide insight on investment strategies for innovative startups, the investment community and the all-important end-user. He will focus on some of the key characteristics for picking industry leaders and how companies can survive to achieve scale.
The full-day agenda consists of four speaker-led sessions, giving attendees an overview of the current state of the market, the unique complexities of investing in the fleet market, and the innovations and emerging technologies prime for investment opportunities. Panel sessions include:
- Clean Tech Market Acceleration: The State of Investment in Advanced Transportation Technologies and Fuels: A discussion on the dynamics and rapid growth in the advanced clean transportation, providing an understanding of the current state of investment and the unique challenges and opportunities of investing in the commercial vehicle and fuel sector.
- Jumpstarting the Market: Government’s Role in Market Development: Leading government agencies will discuss the historical, continued and increasing role of government investment, and public policy, in building and accelerating new markets for advanced transportation technology.
- Learning by Doing: Early Stage Investment in Technology Innovation: Bringing together successful VCs, investors, entrepreneurs and companies to share the hard-won lessons for early-stage investments and their paths to market success where scaled business models are the goal.
- Scaling to Success: The Financial Leap to Mass Deployments: Providing insight from market-making fleets, OEMS, energy majors and global financial institutions into how innovative solutions and technologies have gone from the research and development phase to mass-market penetration, and what are some of the key critical factors for a technology to reach true commercial scale.
Investor Summit speakers and moderators include leaders in public and private investment, venture capital, and fleets at the forefront of innovation, such as:
- Dr Holmes Hummel, founder and CEO, Clean Energy Works; board member, Cornerstone Capital and Cleantech Open
- Matt McLelland, innovation strategist, Covenant Transportation
- Patty Monahan, commissioner, California Energy Commission
- Mary Nichols, chair, California Air Resources Board
- Brook Porter, partner, G2VP
- Dan Tram, investment director, Volvo Group Venture Capital
- Dr Alicia Williams, GameChanger, Shell
Other speakers will be announced shortly, event organizers said. Attendees can register now to attend the ACT Expo Investor Summit.
