ACE Mobility on Dutch Mobility Trade Mission in the US

Last week ACE Mobility attended the Dutch Mobility Trade Mission in the Bay Area and Arizona which was organized by the Netherlands Consulate in San Francisco, The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Handelsroute.nl and FIER Automotive. The main goal for attending this mission was to discover the possibilities for the ACE Mobility Student Abroad Program and to connect with various international companies, governments and universities to set up an international network for the ACE activities.

The delegation of the trade mission consisted of various innovative companies in Smart & Green Mobility. Also the DG Mobility, Kees van der Burg of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Watermanagement attended the trade mission.
A full program was organized for the entire week, offering the opportunity to get acquainted with various universities, governments and companies that focus on smart and green mobility.

Visit in California
Coast2Coast kicked the first day off by informing the delegation about doing business in the United States and concluded with a tour to Stanford University, where there were organized several meetings with Stanford University and the Global Institute for Futures Teaching.

In San Francisco the delegation was invited to the Dutch Consulate to discuss the smart & green mobility topics of California. Followed by a meeting the next day, about the regulations and the strategies of California related to the implementation of electric and automated vehicles with the California State Transportation Agency, the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and California Energy Commission.

At the University of UC Davis the delegation was welcomed by the Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Research Center/Institute of transportation studies. UC Davis presented their research topics related to the charging infrastructure, micro mobility and the economic business model of automated driving. Also there were some interesting virtual meetings with Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE), Cruise and Forth Mobility about their strategies to overcome the prejudices of automated driving, the first implementations of automated vehicles on Californian roads and the EV community carsharing programs. 

Last day in Phoenix
On the last day the trade mission transferred to Phoenix to meet The Greater Phoenix Economic Council to discuss their strategies and vision regarding autonomous and electrified mobility. ACE Mobility gave a presentation about the ACE activities and the day ended with a Mix & Match where the mayor of Phoenix gave the delegation a warm welcome.

Follow up actions
ACE Mobility have made several agreements and appointments to follow-up the meetings during the mission. In the following weeks ACE Mobility will arrange online meetings with UC Davis, UC Berkely, the University of Arizona and the Consulate General of The Netherlands SF, to discuss the possibilities regarding student exchanges and the contribution of the Dutch Consulate to ACE Mobility international ambitions.  

It was a great experience that gave ACE Mobility the opportunity to expand the international network and put the ACE Mobility Student Abroad Program on the map.