Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change Are Fossil Fuel Cars About to Have Their Kodak Moment? Ep248: Fiona Howarth
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Mar 11, 2026 Fiona Howarth, founder of Octopus Electric Vehicles and senior Octopus Energy leader, who built EV leasing and V2G programmes. She discusses how falling battery costs and Chinese competition sped EV adoption. She explores vehicle-to-grid tech turning cars into distributed batteries. She also covers policy drivers like ZEV mandates and tensions with traditional automakers.
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Early BMW Hydrogen Work Pushed Her Toward EVs
- Fiona worked at BMW's hydrogen fuel cell team in Munich (2003–2004) and saw hydrogen's efficiency and transport drawbacks firsthand.
- That early experience convinced her EVs would arrive first commercially, with hydrogen possibly later.
Battery Price Collapse Made EVs Affordable
- Battery costs fell from about $1,000/kWh to roughly $100/kWh over a decade, cutting typical car battery costs by about $20,000.
- That collapse enabled either much longer ranges or far cheaper EVs, unlocking mainstream affordability and choice.
Schedule EV Charging With Smart Tariffs
- Use smart meters and dynamic tariffs to schedule charging when electricity is cheapest and greenest, guaranteeing the car's required charge by a set time.
- Let the system control timing while you set the outcome (eg 80% by 7am) to save costs.