Day 2 Summary: The Future of Electrification Virtual Conference

Building on the conversations from Day One, Day Two of ZAPI GROUP’s 2026 Future of Electrification Virtual Conference (FOE) expanded the event’s “From Hype to Reality” theme with sessions focusing on the emerging trends defining tomorrow’s electric platforms and manufacturers.

The agenda brought together editors from leading industry publications, engineers, and executives for advanced technical sessions and insightful panel discussions, giving attendees a broader view of both the industry’s current momentum and the opportunities ahead.

Keynote: Mobile Robotics 2026 – Trends in Logistics Automation

Javier Miguélez, co-founder of Moving Robots and a leading authority in mobile robotics and logistics, opened Day Two with a keynote presentation on the trends shaping mobile robotics deployments in logistics automation. Drawing on his industry experience, he explained that companies often underestimate the complexity of advanced automation projects, which can turn out to be “harder than expected.”

As mobile robotics adoption matures, success increasingly depends not only on having the right technology, but on knowing how to apply, support, and scale it effectively. Miguélez emphasized the importance of robust vehicle design, deep application focus, extensive real-world testing, and excellent service. Autonomous mobile robot (AMR) implementations must also account for how robots move through shared, dynamic environments with mixed-vehicle traffic, people, and other unpredictable variables. Without that foundation, automation can create new inefficiencies or amplify existing ones.

Miguélez noted that good, globally available robotics hardware is not the main reason one-third of projects fail. Instead, failures often stem from companies:

• Not anticipating real-world application challenges
• Relying too heavily on fixed automation thinking
• Failing to clearly define their motives for adoption
• Lacking the process maturity needed to optimize throughput, labor usage, and material flow.

His strategy for successful deployments starts with identifying “simple, isolated, proven use cases,” ideally with little to no mixed traffic. From there, vendors must deliver solutions that provide high uptime, long service life, and fast, local support.

Once systems are operational, long-term success depends on prompt service after damage, ongoing layout or process changes, software updates, and system expansions. As evidence, Miguélez pointed to the advantage held by established European vendors that have spent decades building service networks. Rather than calling for radically new technologies, he closed by observing, “The technology already exists; understanding how to use it well does not.”

Leadership in Electrification

During the panel, “Leadership in Electrification: Navigating Global Markets, Innovation and Industry Transformation,” Sara Jensen, Executive Editor at Power & Motion, moderated a conversation that built on Miguélez’s keynote while expanding the discussion from deployment challenges to broader market and leadership considerations.

Claes Avasjo, Executive Director at ZAPI GROUP, and Sarah McKinnon, CEO at Delta-Q Technologies, identified three critical success factors for navigating electrification’s evolving landscape: leadership commitment, economics, and execution capability.

Understanding how to use and support the right technologies becomes increasingly crucial as electrification shifts from its early phase of enthusiasm to the development of more complex, real-world solutions.

This can be seen in the different regional dynamics playing out across North America, Europe and China, as well as differences across applications. For example, similar to how Europe’s service networks provide AMR and AGV advantages, the region’s heavy emphasis on environmental regulations substantially contributes to progress in electrifying city buses and last-mile transport. In China, state-driven policies, subsidies and large-scale manufacturing have facilitated faster adoption of electric vehicles, especially for forklifts and other industrial vehicles.

The electrification landscape’s nonlinear progress is amplified by OEMs focusing on fewer, more executable applications for which they already have the experience, partnerships and a proven return on investment. Although the strategy strengthens traditional electrical markets, such as material handling or aerial work platforms, the electrification of heavy-duty construction and agricultural equipment is often stuck in pilot phases as “OEMs continue to invest and test” without committing to scale manufacturing.

The emphasis on proven, near-term returns reflects customers prioritizing total cost of ownership (TCO), battery lifecycles and uptime to support operational and financial efficiency. This requires most OEMs to collaborate with multiple experts when developing end-to-end, systems-level solutions that reduce complexity and accelerate adoption.

Battery Technologies & Trends

The industry’s growing maturity was highlighted again during the panel discussion, “The Realities of Battery Technology in Modern Electrification.” Moderated by Becky Schultz, Vice President of Content at KHL Power, the panel featured experts from Panasonic Energy of North America, Flux Power, Aliant Ultralight Battery, and Forsee Power.

The panelists emphasized that batteries are no longer the primary restriction on electrifying certain applications. Instead, the conversation has shifted from whether batteries can support electrification to which battery chemistry is best suited for each application. For OEMs, that means assessing factors such as:

• Energy density
• Duty cycle and cycle life
• Operating environment — including thermal management, vibration, shock, and storage
• Voltage range — from 24 V to 800 V+
• Charging behavior
• Total cost of ownership (TCO)

Across lithium, sodium, lead-acid, and other chemistries, each option supports different performance outcomes. As the panelists noted, there is no universally best battery chemistry. System design and integration are just as critical as cell selection, especially when integrating chargers and battery management systems (BMS) or enabling charger-battery-vehicle communication through technologies such as CAN bus.

Panelists also agreed that lab tests and assumptions often fall short of real-world demands, including partial charging, long idle periods, temperature extremes, and high vibration. Real-world telematics data must inform design and validation, but integrated systems now generate so much data that it can be difficult to turn it into useful insights or actionable alerts. Cross-system data interoperability, unified dashboards, AI-driven analytics, and charging optimization can help address this challenge.

As noted during the “Leadership in Electrification” panel, battery charging remains the dominant method for supplying energy to electric platforms. Because performance and longevity are significantly affected by charging behavior, the “Battery Technology” panel reinforced that batteries and chargers must be designed and validated together. Through system-level design and early collaboration between OEMs and their battery, charger, and BMS suppliers, engineers can better meet application needs, reduce TCO, and prepare for future compliance requirements and technologies.

Simulation-Driven Hydraulics

Examining global trends, technological advancements, and product lifecycles, Xin Tian, PhD, System Modeling Engineer at CNH Industrial, analyzed the critical role of simulation throughout product development during one of FOE’s final sessions, “Simulation-Driven Hydraulics for Off-Highway OEM Digital Transformation.” As OEMs pursue faster innovation, fewer physical prototypes, and more sustainable machines, Dr. Tian asserted that simulation, system design, and digital engineering can no longer be considered optional.

Today’s advanced simulation capabilities shift product value earlier in the development cycle. By shortening development timelines, improving system efficiency, maintaining performance as products mature, and accelerating next-generation innovation, simulation can help OEMs reduce costs and bring products to market faster.

Demonstrating this impact, Dr. Tian explained the need for high-fidelity, coupled simulation of mobile machinery hydraulic systems, which are both critical and highly complex to model. These challenges stem from variable operating conditions, such as dust and liquid ingress or extreme temperatures; complex controls, including electro-hydraulic valves, load-sensing systems, and CAN bus-based controllers; tight coupling between hydraulics and other systems; and nonlinear system behavior, such as pressure-dependent flows, valve hysteresis, and oil compressibility.

By modeling complete systems, including engines, hydraulics, mechanics, controls, and implements, engineers can virtually evaluate multiple architectures before optimizing energy flow and control strategies. This improves efficiency while reducing reliance on physical prototypes. Dr. Tian also referenced the use of advanced simulation and control optimization to achieve 45.9% efficiency and power savings for a system-level hydraulic control solution.

Simulation can also help OEMs evaluate tradeoffs around “what to electrify, how to electrify and where hybrid solutions make sense,” while supporting the design and validation of electric platforms and hydraulic systems together. To strengthen this process, Dr. Tian advocated for digital twins that connect physical systems with data-driven virtual models. CNH’s dynamic simulator, for example, places a real operator in a cab mounted on a motion platform, allowing them to interact with a virtual tractor model for a more complete assessment.

For off-highway OEMs, the takeaway was clear: simulation is no longer just a development tool, but a strategic foundation for improving efficiency, reducing risk, and making smarter electrification decisions.

Conclusion: Looking Ahead

FOE 2026’s attendees finished Day Two with a thorough understanding of today’s and tomorrow’s electrification trends. Far more than just hype, these insights will drive continued progress and help us deliver on the promises of an electrified future.

Missed the event and would like to watch the recording? All sessions are available on-demand for the next 30 days on the event platform and then on ZAPI GROUP's YouTube channel.