Who loves the electric car? EDTA does, and their expo starts today

As we mentioned, the Electric Drive Transportation Association Conference and Exhibition kicks off today. Before things get started, I wanted to make sure I had a good overview of what the conference is all about. Since I'm learning something, it makes sense to me to also let you know what the deal is.

Considering the show is focused on electric drive trains, it's no surprise that EVs, hybrids and fuel cells are the stars of the week. There will be a luncheon dedicated to plug-in hybrids and the "Infrastructure of the Future" (which I hope will be similar in scope to the hydrogen economy predictions I heard in Honolulu a few weeks ago). The major workshop will deal with finding federal money for electric drive support. The keynote speakers for the conference will be:

• Jim Press, President, Toyota Motor North America
• John Bryson, Chairman, President & CEO of Edison International
• The Honorable Alexander Karsner, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and
• Senator Byron Dorgan

Representing the auto industry - even though everyone and their brother is at the L.A. Auto Show this week - will be General Motors, Global Electric Motorcars, Hyundai, Toyota, American Honda Motor Company, Lexus and Zenn. Electric drive train-related companies Enova Systems, Southern California Edison, UDM Technologies and more will also be there (you can see the complete list here).

Last year's EDTA show was in Vancouver, which is a lot prettier than Washington, D.C. at the end of November, but because the association's stated goal is to "examine federal policy options to accelerate the adoption of electric drive," holding EDTA 2006 in our nation's capital does make sense. If you're interested in anything specific from the EDTA show, please post your comments at the end of my previous post. I'll be checking that post out for your contributions. Thanks.

[Source: EDTA]