As the world pushes toward a sustainable future, electrifying transportation remains central to achieving net zero emissions. In 2024, more than 17 million electric vehicles were sold globally—more than one in five new cars—marking tremendous progress driven by advances in batteries, power electronics and charging technology. Yet, momentum has begun to slow, with affordability, charging infrastructure and material supply chains posing hindering widespread adoption.
At the University of Toronto Electric Vehicle Research Centre (UTEV), researchers are tackling these challenges through innovations such as Gallium Nitride (GaN) power converters that boost efficiency, fault-tolerant power management chips for safer onboard systems, auto-aligned wireless charging, battery management systems with built-in health diagnostics and reconfigurable fast-charging architectures. Together, these technologies point to a future where electric mobility is not just feasible, but universal—transforming how we move, power and sustain our world.
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About the speaker
Professor Olivier Trescases
Olivier Trescases received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering at the University of Toronto. Before joining the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor in 2009, he worked as a Concept Engineer and mixed-signal IC Designer in Infineon Technologies, Austria, focusing on safety-critical automotive applications. At the University of Toronto his group conducts research on high-efficiency power electronic converters for automotive, industrial and renewable energy applications. His expertise is in the area of energy management, high-frequency/high-density power electronics, power ICs including wide bandgap semiconductors, battery management systems and electric vehicles. While on sabbatical in 2016, he worked at the Texas Instruments Kilby Labs, Santa Clara, USA, and then at NXP Semiconductor in Eindoven, Holland. Trescases is currently a Full Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UofT and a Canada Research Chair in Power Electronic converters. He is the Director of the UofT Electric Vehicle Research Centre. Prof. Trescases received several best paper awards at IEEE COMPEL, ECCE, EDSSC, ISPSD, INTERPAK. He is an associate editor for the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. He has been involved with the IEEE Toronto Section (4000+ members) in various roles and served as the Section Chair from 2018-2019. He has served on various IEEE conference technical committees, including the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC), the Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, and the International Symposium on Power Semiconductors and ICs.