Mike Calise has been appointed president of the Americas of Tritium. Calise, an electric vehicle charging industry veteran, took some time to chat with InsideEVs about his new position.
EV Charging Industry News
Joining a world-class team driven with core values in energy freedom, ‘DC everywhere’ will significantly reduce battery fill-up time from hours to minutes. I’m excited to join a company that’s brilliant, nimble and entering the exponential growth trajectory market phase of EV fueling. Tritium is creating the market for ubiquitous, effortless DC. - Mike Calise, Tritium
Australian-based Tritium is a supplier of EV charging equipment; they don't manage networks like ChargePoint, EVgo or Electrify America. Tritium engineers and manufactures the equipment then sells it to the network managers or property owners.
They recently opened a 35,000-square-foot facility called the "Tritium E-Mobility Innovation Center" in Los Angeles, to expand manufacturing and improve their logistics capabilities.
We are creating the market for ‘DC everywhere’. DC applications are expanding well beyond corridor and city-to-city connection, into traditional AC applications. Mainstream EV adoption is now critically dependent on ubiquitous DCFC deep into high-density populations on the main streets of America. True energy freedom will be realized when drivers no longer have to plan for a complete battery fill-up. I’m passionate about making this happen with the team. - Mike Calise
Calise says Tritium will be pushing to install DC fast chargers everywhere, and even uses the term "DC Everywhere" as a mission. DC fast chargers have been traditionally located along major corridors, allowing for long-distance EV travel. But that's not the only place they belong, according to Calise. He wants to see DC fast chargers in the hearts of city centers, as well as in high-density populated residential areas. These are places where there aren't too many DC Fast chargers currently located.
I’ve been in the business since 2010 and helped the industry make tremendous leaps and strides during the early adopter decade, when most doubted the impact of EV. 2020 is a tipping point for electric vehicles, and that means there’s a lot of heavy lifting and pivoting required from now until 2030 by companies committed to the mission. - Mike Calise
Before coming to Tritium, Calise served as held chief executive officer and senior vice president roles at Blink Charging, where he was responsible for Blink’s NASDAQ listing, as well as customer-facing and strategic partner activities. Prior to his work at Blink, Calise also held leadership roles at Schneider Electric as Head of EV Solutions, North America and EVadvise, an independent advisory firm focused on mass-scale EV infrastructure, which he founded.
We wish Calise and Tritium good luck and will keep our readers updated on the company's progress and announcements.
TRITIUM CONTINUES CHARGE INTO AMERICAS WITH NEW PRESIDENT
Electric vehicle charging leader appoints industry veteran Mike Calise to drive growth
Tritium set to capitalize on the tipping point pushing EVs into the mainstream.
Los Angeles, CA February 3, 2020 – Tritium, a world leader in electric vehicle (EV) DC fast charging solutions, has taken the next step in its growth phase with the appointment of electric vehicle sector veteran Mike Calise to the role of President of the Americas.
“As we continue our expansion in the Americas, we are thrilled to have Mike on board, someone
who’s a highly experienced leader that understands the EV charging business,” said David Finn, CEO, and co-founder, Tritium. “He will play a key role in driving continued growth within the Americas market at a time when our team is achieving great success with significant new deals and strategic partnerships.
“His proven leadership skills, combined with his background of progressive growth, will boost our
continued momentum, particularly in North America where we’ve recently re-affirmed roots with new US facility and have established a number of key strategic partnerships across the country.”
Prior to joining Tritium, Calise held chief executive officer and senior vice president roles at Blink
Charging Co. where he was responsible for Blink’s NASDAQ listing, as well as customer-facing and strategic partner activities. The industry veteran has also held leadership roles at Schneider Electric as Head of EV SolutionsNorth America and EVadvise, an independent advisory firm focused on mass scale EV infrastructure which he founded. While there he authored ‘Electrify Your Business’ sponsored by Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and was a contributing author of ‘Ready, Set, Charge, California!’.
“I’m thrilled to join Tritium, a global powerhouse in DC Fast charging solutions, at a time when it is set to leap forward,” said Calise. “I’ll be laser focused in working with our strategic partners to
enable them to meet increased EV industry demands and take the EV sector into a new era of DC
fast charging everywhere.
The EV sector is at a tipping point as the global market for EVs has grown at about 60 percent since 2014 with sales in the US increasing 46 percent each year. Calise believes Tritium’s high-powered solutions will become increasingly necessary for a market which needs the infrastructure in place to cater to this new era of e-mobility.
“We are officially out of the chicken-and-egg market phase and into the self-fulfilling spiral-up
market phase,” said Calise. “The demand for DC fast charging is staggering and Tritium’s poised for exceptional growth – I’m here to help drive that growth.”
APPOINTMENT FOLLOWS A MILESTONE TWO YEARS FOR TRITIUM IN THE AMERICAS
The past 24 months have seen the company re-affirm its plans for expansion across the region while establishing several key partnerships in the region.
In 2018, the company announced it was receiving a portion of $3.2 million in federal funding
awarded to Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) by the Department of Energy, to develop an
extreme fast-charging system that can connect directly to the distribution grid. EPRI allocated about $400,000 for Tritium to develop a custom version of its Veefil-PK high-powered charging head, along with providing input for system design and testing.
Also that year, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, a Fortive Corporation (“Fortive”) (NYSE: FTV) business took a minority investment in Tritium. This has allowed Tritium to accelerate several strategic activities, including operational expansion in the US.
In 2019, the company opened the Tritium E-Mobility Innovation Centre in Los Angeles, and
announced the pending launch of its revolutionary RT175s DC High Power Charger (HPC). Designed specifically for the United States market, the RT175S will provide the most flexible and lowest-cost installation of a charger in its class in the US.
Also last year, the company announced a deal with SSA Marine to supply the Port of Long Beach in California with 33 modified RT175S HPCs – equipped with Stäubli’s Quick Charging Connector (QCC) – to enable the fast charging of the port’s entire fleet of electric-drive terminal tractors
automatically and simultaneously. The project represents the largest automated vehicle charging
program at any port in the US.
Tritium’s proactive investments in the US have been recognized by various government offices,
which has led to significant working relationships with those departments.
About Tritium
Tritium is a technology and product company that designs and manufactures the world’s most
advanced DC fast-charging equipment for electric vehicles (EV). Established in 2001 to provide
power-electronic systems and battery energy-storage applications, Tritium became one of
Australia’s fastest-growing companies with the launch of its first DC fast charger in 2014. Since then, Tritium has become a leading global DC fast charging (DCFC) supplier with installations in more than 32 countries. Tritium currently holds around 50 percent of the world-leading market in Norway and around 15 percent of the wider global market for 50kW fast chargers. Tritium customers include Chargefox, Charge.net.nz, EDF Lumins, SSA Marine, Fortum, Grønn Kontakt, IONITY and Stromnetz.
Tritium’s global headquarters and main manufacturing plant is in Brisbane, Australia. Additional
sales and manufacturing facilities in Amsterdam and the Los Angeles region ensure attention to key markets in Europe and the Americas.
For more, visit www.tritium.com.au.