Chevy Volt Innovator Tony Posawatz Named as CEO of Fermata Energy

July 19, 2023 at 08:31 AM EDT

V2X Visionary and Founding CEO David Slutzky Retains Position as Chairman

Today, the trailblazing vehicle-to-everything (V2X) bidirectional charging startup Fermata Energy named electric vehicles (EVs) innovator and operations expert Tony Posawatz as CEO. Posawatz has served on the advisory board of Fermata Energy for more than 10 years. David Slutzky, a V2X visionary and Fermata Energy’s founding CEO, retains his role as Chairman of the Board and will continue to be an active thought leader on climate tech, mobility, and energy. The change was effective July 7, 2023.

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EV innovator and Fermata Energy CEO Tony Posawatz (Photo: Business Wire)

Posawatz is an EV innovator and operations expert, best known for leading the development and commercialization of the Chevy Volt (General Motors). In August 2012, he was appointed chief executive of California-based Fisker Automotive. Posawatz is a highly sought-after expert in the automotive industry and previously served on the board of Lucid Motors and several other new mobility and new energy companies.

Slutzky founded Fermata Energy in 2010 with two intentions: accelerate the adoption of EVs and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy by enabling EVs to act as mobile energy storage assets. The company was the first to achieve UL 9741 certification for bidirectional charging. Its customers can earn thousands of dollars per EV per year from local utility providers for selling excess energy stored in EV batteries to the grid or sending that energy to their building to offset costly peak demand charges. V2X services includes vehicle-to-grid (V2G), vehicle-to-building (V2B), and vehicle-to-home (V2H).

“Fermata Energy is a climate tech innovator that brought the first US automotive manufacturer-approved bidirectional charger to market. It continues to accelerate the growth of this market by making its AI-driven V2X software platform available to utilities and automotive and EV charger manufacturers. We’re speeding access to V2G services for companies across the entire value chain,” said Posawatz. “I’m excited to step into the role of CEO and am here to unleash the full potential of Fermata Energy.”

“I invited Tony to join our advisory board more than a decade ago because of his deep expertise in automotive operations and EV commercialization. It’s a bonus that his passion for EVs and how vehicle-to-grid services can positively change energy and mobility matches mine,” said Slutzky. “I’m an entrepreneur at heart and it’s been one of my goals to bring Fermata Energy from concept to this phase and then to move into a strategic advisor role. Tony knows Fermata Energy and is the right person to lead the company through the next phase of growth and positive impact.”

The Fermata Energy platform uses machine learning and AI to optimize thousands of rapidly changing data points and makes it simpler for both fleets and utilities to manage EVs as distributed energy resources. The company is currently integrating its software with multiple V2G-capable chargers to support installations for school districts and fleets with medium and heavy-duty EVs.

Fermata Energy works with leading organizations, including Nissan, Ford, rideshare leader Revel, Verizon, Department of Energy, the City of Boulder and utilities across the United States.

Fermata Energy is a Carlyle portfolio company.

About Fermata Energy

Park it. Plug it. Profit.TM

Fermata Energy’s proprietary vehicle-to-everything (V2X) bidirectional charging platform turns EVs into batteries on wheels, enabling EV fleet owners to earn money from their local utility. With managed bidirectional charging, utilities can add EVs as energy storage assets to increase grid resilience and avoid building new peaker plants.

V2X includes vehicle-to-grid (V2G), vehicle-to-building (V2B), and vehicle-to-home (V2H) solutions.

Learn more at www.fermataenergy.com and follow us on LinkedIn.