Supporting sustainable mobility solutions for the energy transition

SAE International opens in new tab/window is an association of over 128,000 engineers and technical experts from around the world working in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. With a mission to advance mobility knowledge and solutions, SAE connects and educates engineers while promoting and advancing those industries.

Frank Menchaca opens in new tab/window, President of Sustainable Mobility Solutions at SAE International, believes his organization has a vital role in educating, supporting and bringing together different stakeholders in the industry to work together on the challenges of the energy transition. Here he talks about how SAE is doing that. The interview has been edited slightly for length and clarity.

How does SAE help engineers at large corporations understand and stay informed about the latest developments and trends in the energy transition movement?

Engineers use our events, like Aerotech opens in new tab/window and WCX World Congress opens in new tab/window, to network with other engineers and to attend technical presentations where they discuss problems in the energy transition that are extremely active.

Our standards creation process, which is open and consensus-based, is also a forum in which engineers hash out technical problems together. This process is a platform through which engineers come together to, essentially, create something that supports both safety and efficiency and makes room for innovation.

A good example of that is SAE J3400 opens in new tab/window, which standardizes Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug. This will contribute to interoperability in the charging infrastructure.

What resources do you provide to help them understand the implications of the energy transition for their respective industries and companies?

Our MOBILUS platform opens in new tab/window houses the vast majority of our content. Those technical presentations I mentioned become papers that are collected on the platform along with our standards and books and journals. It’s a comprehensive information source.

How do you support engineers in developing skills and knowledge relevant to the deployment of low-carbon technologies?

Our professional learning group trains about 10,000 engineers every year, giving them new skills in areas like battery development. We also engage students ranging from kindergarten through university in our pre-professional program. A great example is our Formula SAE Electric competition opens in new tab/window in which student build and race electric race cars.

How do you collaborate with companies, governments, and other stakeholders to promote the energy transition and support the role of engineers in this transition?

We’re a convener of industry, which means we bring together stakeholders to address large-scale challenges they face. We have an affiliate, for example, the SAE-ITC opens in new tab/window (Industry Technologies Consortia), which convenes companies to work together to solve problems affecting everyone, such as automated vehicle safety, on a pre-competitive basis.

We are heavily involved with creating reliability standards through the national ChargeX consortium opens in new tab/window. Reliability — access to charging stations and their successful operation for drivers — is key to building consumer confidence. This is critical to EV adoption.

Do you think we’re moving at the right pace? How can we accelerate the speed at which innovation takes place and gets adopted?

Science tells us 2023 was the hottest year in human history, and that 2024 is likely to be hotter. So, no, we are not moving fast enough to address the causes of global warming. We have to use every tool we have to reduce our reliance on burning fossil fuels for energy. There’s no one solution. Government can be a first mover by creating incentives for companies to invest in cleaner, more renewable energy sources. This can catalyze our efforts.

What initiatives or programs do you have in place to support the upskilling and reskilling of engineers to meet the changing demands of the energy sector?

With our partner EIT InnoEnergy opens in new tab/window, we are bringing to market the Battery Academy opens in new tab/window, a collection of 22 online courses aimed at helping not just engineers, but also technicians acquire new skills in areas like battery manufacturing.

How do you work with engineering education institutions to ensure that the next generation of engineers is equipped with the skills and knowledge needed for the energy transition?

One example is a new series of course books — SAE Sustainable Engineering Practices — which we are creating with Wiley. These books are designed to help both working engineers and those entering the profession understand how to design sustainability into their day-to-day work at its very beginning.