Ram Ambatipudi of EV Connect on Uptime Standards and Reliability

Rue Phillips interviews Ram Ambatipudi, Vice President of Business Development & Utility Engagement at EV Connect. Ram is focused on business development activities with electric utilities and other strategic accounts to advance EV charging infrastructure and management and control of EV Charging stations.  Ram has led the qualification of EV Connect in over twenty electric utility rebate, incentive, or make-ready infrastructure programs representing over $1 billion in aggregate investment. In addition, he represents EV Connect with multiple trade associations including the Alliance for Transportation Electrification (ATE) and Smart Energy Power Alliance (SEPA) and has spoken at numerous conferences and tradeshows.  Ram was an original co-founder and seed investor in EV Connect when it was created in 2009.

Ram formed Kala Energy, a consulting and investment advisory group focused on renewable energy.  Kala Energy supports renewable energy project developers and investors by originating project acquisition and sales opportunities with a diverse focus on technologies, geographies and market segments. 

Previously, Ram was Director, Large Scale Renewables for Chevron Energy Solutions (now part of Engie) where he oversaw a project portfolio of over 1,600 MW of utility-scale solar projects in various stages of development.  He also led project origination and due diligence for tax-equity investment activities for Chevron’s Renewables Investment group.  Ram’s direct project development efforts resulted in over 25MW of DG Solar projects and energy efficiency projects with government sector customers representing over $100 million of revenue.

Ram has over 25 years of experience in the energy industry, including 17 years in the renewable energy and cleantech sector.  He has a B.A. in Economics from UCLA and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.

In this episode, we cover several key topics including:
EV Connect [2:16 - 3:00]
Challenges in Reliability & Operability [3:02 - 4:33]
Operability of Different EV Chargers [4:40 - 6:19]
Uptime Standards [6:20 - 8:02]
Supporting Open Standards [8:12 - 10:00]
OCPP Standard [10:00 - 11:57]
Code Standard Competition [12:00 - 12:41]
Ram’s Reliability Rating in the US [12:42 - 13:27]
Lessons Learned [13:36 - 15:06]
Solar, Battery, and EV Integration [15:10 - 17:00]
Peak Demand Shaving & Thresholds [17:00 - 18:13]
Ram’s Take on the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund [18:14 - 19:39]
Government & Municipality Incentives [19:40 - 21:28]
Range Anxiety [21:29 - 22:30]
Ram’s Next EV [22:31 - 23:24]
Future of Fleet Electrification [23:40 - 25:15]
What Would Ram do with $2 Billion? [25:16- 26:40]
... And lots more!

Connect with Ram on Linkedin.

Resources mentioned in this article:

1. Learn more about EV Connect
2. Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP)

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Rue Phillips