THE Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) has announced its new head of policy is Dr Jake Whitehead, who EVC chief executive Behyad Jafari described as a world-leading expert in e-mobility.

“He brings a wealth of expertise from roles including as Tritium e-mobility fellow at The University of Queensland, a member of the International Electric Vehicle Policy Council, and a lead author of the IPCC Transport Chapter,” Mr Jafari said.

“He holds two PhDs in Energy Efficient Vehicle Policy and Transport Science.

“As the electric vehicle industry continues to grow in Australia, the Electric Vehicle Council is dedicated to providing its members with the best experts and leaders to support their business journey.

“Jake will support members and the industry lead the development of policies to accelerate Australia’s transition to electric vehicles and advance its innovative domestic industry.”

Dr Whitehead has for the past five years been a research fellow in e-mobility at the University of Queensland’s Dow Centre for sustainable engineering innovation working in the fields of transport engineering, architecture and information technology.

He is also the CEO of Odin Pass and is leading one of the world’s most comprehensive mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) trials, run on a not-for-profit basis at the University of Queensland.

Dr Whitehead is also lead author of the transport chapter of the IPCC report on climate change impacts; a member of the California-based International Electric Vehicle Policy Council; a director of Transmobility Consulting working on sustainable transport solutions; and was previously the Queensland Government’s electric vehicle policy consultant.

He also spent five years as a researcher for the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden investigating consequences of government incentives on supporting the uptake of energy efficient policis, particularly the impacts of Stockholm’s low-emission vehicle exemption from the city’s congestion pricing scheme.

By Neil Dowling