This tutorial is now full. Space may become available, so please plan to arrive early on Tuesday, October 16, to join a queue for available seats.

A hands-on, deep dive discovery session — including corporates, startups, thought leaders and experts — exploring artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain-enabled applications to create more sustainable solutions for our planet. 

With potentially lower costs and greater fleet efficiency, autonomous shared vehicles are already attracting investors, urban sustainability planners, and riders. While most fleet operators think autonomous vehicles are a futuristic technology, the truth is that autonomous fleets are already on the roadways and have driven millions of miles this year. The future is here. How should you plan for it?

City infrastructure, land use and even housing will need to be rethought as computers begin driving our cars and vehicles are increasingly used on-demand. Automated, shared vehicles could usher in an era of increased greenhouse gas emissions and congestion or propel a world of cleaner and more efficient transportation. Hear from designers, architects and transportation planners about how they envision the future. 

What lessons can the growth of renewable energy teach people working in or interested in the new mobility space? Where are there similarities, and where are there differences? Is it possible that despite a later start, mobility will transition to a sustainable future faster than the electricity sector does?

About VERGE Guru Lunches: Join like minded attendees for interactive moderated lunch discussions around a particular topic. Each table discussion will be led by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants.

Innovation is central to sustainable business and it is urgently needed to address the most pressing challenges in energy, transport, and circular economy. But are we fully leveraging the power of collaboration between buyers, suppliers, and investors to ensure solutions address business needs as well as sustainability goals and that technologies are positioned to scale? Nate Springer from BSR leads two buyer-supplier transport clean tech collaborations, Future of Fuels and Clean Cargo Working Group, and he designed the Sustainable Fuel Buyers’ Principles for vehicle fleets as well as supported the team that launched the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance with BSR, WWF, RMI, and WRI. 

About VERGE Guru Lunches: Join like minded attendees for interactive moderated lunch discussions around a particular topic. Each table discussion will be led by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants.

Advances in batteries, sharing, and informatics are leading to innovative mobility models that can take cars off the road: “Micro” solutions like bike/scooter-share and individually-owned electric cargo bikes for households and commercial fleets are coming to cities around the U.S. Larger-scale technologies like carpool ride-hailing appear to help cut down on single-occupancy vehicles, and shared car services are giving people real alternatives to owning vehicles s altogether. What is the scale of the opportunity to actually reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) with these technologies? Which entities are most important for making it happen? Where are current trends taking us—and where is there needed a push?

About VERGE Guru Lunches: Join like minded attendees for interactive moderated lunch discussions around a particular topic. Each table discussion will be led by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants.

The opportunities of the ride-sharing revolution could be leaving some behind. Are low-income riders being neglected? Are ride sharing companies marginalizing their workforces? How can cities, companies and users address these concerns? A conversation on economics, equity and labor.

The first wave of electric vehicle batteries are just beginning to reach the end of their useful life on the roads, and are now being tested out to store energy for buildings and the power grid. Automakers, utilities, energy storage service providers and battery manufacturers are trying to figure out how to develop a supply chain and system that enables affordable reuse and recycling of electric vehicle batteries at scale. What are the challenges and opportunities for this circular economy of energy storage?