Mar 2, 2021
It’s time for “I’m a Millionaire! So Now What?” – and today we talk climate change and electric vehicles. 🚗🚗🚗
If you own a cell phone you’ve probably had battery-life issues.🔋
Kostya Khomutov and his partners did – and tinkering in a basement resulted in the launch of an innovative new company! 👏💫👏
The aerospace engineer is CEO of Ottawa-based GBatteries - tech to help lithium-ion batteries charge as fast as it takes to fill-up a tank of gas.⛽️
Kostya’s goal is to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles - in turn reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 🤢
Our planet is in trouble. 🌎🌎🌎
Have a listen to what Kostya Khomutov – and GBatteries – is doing to help change that.
Today’s science lesson is on greenhouse gasses. And the news is not good. Measured in 'carbon dioxide-equivalents' (CO2e), today, we collectively emit around 50 billion tonnes of greenhouse gasses each year - more than 40 percent higher than emissions in 1990, which were around 35 billion tonnes. The transport sector is a big player in upping these numbers, and yes, folks, driving to work and back each day – us small players are also contributing a great deal to this growing problem. In fact, in Britain and the United States, the transport sector emits more greenhouse gasses than electricity production and agriculture.
While electric and hybrid vehicles are becoming more common, they are costly, and they require battery charges – and charging stations are not always easy to come by. According to a report by BC Hydro, 70 percent of British Columbians said “…concern over the range limitations of electric vehicles was the main reason why they wouldn’t consider purchasing one.” And charging those batteries takes time. Sometimes up to four hours. While fast charge stations are available, of the 11,553 electric vehicle chargers open in Canada, only 1,850 of them were quick chargers (an hour).
One Ottawa company is setting out to change that. Ottawa-based GBatteries has one goal – to accelerate the mass adoption of electric vehicles by enabling them to charge as fast as it takes to fill up a tank of gas. By reducing greenhouse gas emissions caused by internal combustion engines, CEO Kostya Khomutov and his partners hope to deliver the planet to future generations in a better state than it is in now. A serial-entrepreneur, his companies all have an aspect of “environmental protection” to them. A graduate of Carleton University, Kostya adds, “We wanted to apply this technology to problems we are facing today and add meaningful value. We noticed that battery charging time is still a significant hurdle to wider EV adoption…If we could combine the ability to charge batteries faster while extending battery life, we could charge electrical vehicles as fast as it takes to fill up a tank of gas and start to have an impact.”
Our planet is in trouble. Kostya Khomutov – and GBatteries – is hoping to change that.