Powering EVs: Microgrids & DC Charging Solutions

Moore's Lobby · 19 Aug 2025 · 41m · Episode 8

What this episode covers

Antonio Di Vaira, Senior VP for Power Products at Schneider Electric, discusses the critical need for grid modernization driven by EV charging and AI data centers. He explains how microgrids and native DC distribution offer efficiency and resilience solutions, citing a pilot project at Schneider's Raleigh campus. Di Vaira also highlights the company's 'Flexset' switchboard, a modular, kit-built product designed to reduce lead times and empower electricians, while emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary engineering and customer-centric design.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • EE Times Current · 37m

    Solving a Renewables Problem with Electric Vehicles

    Ritesh Tyagi, head of product innovation and growth strategy at Infineon, explains that while power generation is sufficient, the electrical grid's 100-year-old infrastructure struggles with transmission and managing peak demand from renewables and EVs. He argues that Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology allows the massive battery capacity of EVs to act as distributed storage, stabilizing the grid. Tyagi emphasizes that modernizing the grid requires next-generation semiconductors like silicon carbide and gallium nitride, along with increased sensor integration and AI for intelligent load management.

  • Hardware to Save a Planet · 54m

    Smart Electrical Panels: Avoiding $25K Upgrades to Enable Home Electrification with Arch Rao

    Arch Rao, Founder and CEO of Span, explains how his company’s smart electrical panel enables homeowners to monitor, control, and optimize energy use down to the circuit level, avoiding costly $15,000–$25,000 service upgrades. Drawing on his experience at Tesla Energy, Rao details how Span’s intelligent load management allows homes to adopt EV chargers, solar, and batteries without upgrading the grid. He discusses the evolution from a consumer-led product to a utility-scale infrastructure asset, highlighting partnerships with utilities like PG&E and the importance of interoperable, aesthetically designed hardware. Rao emphasizes the need for deep system-level engineering to navigate supply chain issues and scale production across 50 states.

  • Catalyst · 28m

    Frontier Forum: Future-proofing data center power infrastructure

    Adib Nasle and Michael Stadler, co-founders of Xendee, discuss how microgrids can help data centers bridge the power gap caused by long grid upgrade timelines. They explain that a stepped approach combining combined heat and power (CHP) with batteries and renewables can reduce electricity costs by up to 80% in California and 60% in Virginia. The conversation highlights Xendee's software platform for designing these systems and the importance of adaptability for future technologies like small modular reactors (SMRs). They argue that microgrids offer scalability and resilience that centralized grid upgrades cannot match for mission-critical facilities.

  • IoT For All Podcast · 18m

    Preparing the Energy Grid for EVs with IoT | Itron's Nick Tumilowicz | Internet of Things Podcast

    Nick Tumilowicz, Director of Product Management at Itron, explains how IoT software and smart meters can manage the grid's capacity for electric vehicle (EV) charging. He details the risks of transformer overloads and the need for real-time data to optimize charging schedules without waiting for multi-year infrastructure upgrades. The discussion highlights the challenges of EV heterogeneity, proprietary protocols, and the business conflict between utilities and vehicle OEMs over customer ownership.

  • Catalyst · 46m

    The journey to monetizing DERs

    Mathew Sachs, SVP at CPower, discusses the current state and future of monetizing distributed energy resources (DERs) like EV chargers, thermostats, and batteries. He explains that while technology for aggregation is mature, regulatory hurdles like FERC Order 2222 implementation and static utility interconnection rules remain significant barriers. Sachs highlights V1G as an immediate solution for EV grid stress and predicts EVs will comprise 20-25% of grid services by 2030.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Moore's Lobby. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.