Ready for Electrification: Preparing the Power Grid for EVs

As the Director for Sustainable Mobility at the Dutch Ministry for Infrastructure and Water Management, Petrouschka Werther oversees the department responsible for the transition towards climate neutral road transportation, serving national and international climate, air quality & health goals. Petrouschka has extensive experience across the transport policy domain. As deputy director for Civil Aviation, she oversaw the drawing up of the White Paper on Aviation 2020 - 2050 and was responsible for Sustainable Aviation, Connectivity and Drones. Previously she has been responsible for various other policy fields at the ministry (eg. roadpricing), specializing in setting up public-private partnerships, with the Netherlands as a living lab for innovations that can be rolled out internationally. Petrouschka holds degrees in Political Science and in Journalism; she studied in the Netherlands and in the UK.

Julia Hildermeier joined RAP's Europe team as an electro-mobility and transport expert to explore the benefits of integrating electrified transport in a smarter and decarbonized power market. She lends her expertise to RAP's Europe programme and leads RAP's work on demand-side flexibility and the integration of new demand into the power system through RAP's Global Expertise Center. Before coming to RAP in 2018, Hildermeier worked for the European Federation for Transport & Environment, advocating for a cleaner, fairer, and more sustainable transport system. As clean vehicles and e-mobility officer, she conducted policy research and managed internal and external research projects, co-created and implemented the organization's advocacy strategy on electro-mobility, and advised decision-makers at the EU level as well as in key Member States. This included expanding stakeholder coalitions and networks, such as the European Platform for Electro-Mobility. Julia Hildermeier holds a doctorate in sociology from Humboldt University Berlin and Ecole Normale Superieure Cachan in Paris. Her academic work included identifying the path-rupture potential of environmental regulation in the European automotive and transport sector. Previously, while earning a master's degree in social sciences and serving as a research assistant in an EU-funded project at Berlin's Center for Social Sciences, she compared the innovation potential of electric vehicle battery politics in Germany and France. Hildermeier publishes and reviews papers in scientific journals on mobility and climate topics. A native German speaker, Julia is also fluent in English and French.

Albert is an Associate Researcher at the ICCT Europe team, where he analyzes the charging demands of battery-electric heavy-duty vehicles and their implications for the power grid. He holds a PhD in Engineering from Reykjavík University, where his research focused on the feasibility of electrifying road freight transport in Iceland. Albert also holds a BSc in Environmental Science from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and an MSc in Sustainable Cities from Aalborg University.

Michael Keller is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) e. V. and CEO of the CharIN Academy GmbH.Michael Keller brings over 20 years of experience in leadership roles, including 14 years in the Volkswagen Group. As a co-founder of CharIN e. V. and long-time Executive Board member and treasurer, Michael has played an instrumental role in shaping the association's direction.Michael Keller received his engineer degree for electric in Karlsruhe and was awarded with the 'Professor Ferdinand Porsche Preis' of the Technical University in Vienna in 2009 for the 'first automotive application of a lithium-ion hybrid battery'.