Malcolm is a mechanical engineer who has always had a passion for building, fixing, modifying and breaking things.  In the late 90's Malcolm became aware of climate change and concluded that it needed to be addressed on global, national and personal levels.  

This led his family to do what they could to lessen their carbon footprint – being aware and addressing energy usage and installing solar panels.  In 2010 Malcolm converted an 1986 BMW Baur Cabriolet car to electric (you could not buy a factory built electric car at this time) which he still drives today.  After 13 years he replaced the batteries in the car, and the old batteries were repurposed as a house battery.

In his presentation Malcolm will talk about what are the main things to consider before undertaking a conversion and what is involved in converting an ICE car to electric.

Introducing Shane Parker and Sarah White; a dynamic duo with a passion for adventure and a commitment to sustainability and innovation. Shane is an engineer who was raised on a farm that pioneered a swathe of sustainable farming practices in the South of Western Australia. His engineering career began as a design engineer, where he worked on projects such as small-scale wind turbines, innovative solar thermal energy capture devices, and desalination systems that utilised waste process heat. Shane's engineering career has led him to his current role as an engineering manager at Zenith Energy, who are at the forefront of the renewable energy transition in Australia, developing and operating hybrid power stations that operate with a significant proportion of renewable energy from solar panels and wind turbines with battery backup for remote mine sites across Australia.

Sarah is a physiotherapist with an interesting career, ranging from supporting aged
people to live independently in the community, to dementia research, education and
program development through to end-of-life care and voluntary assisted dying. She is a founding member of a support group for friends and family members of  participants in Western Australia’s voluntary assisted dying process and is currently studying as a PhD student researching in this field. Adding ten years as a home-education parent into the mix, Sarah's diverse experiences have fuelled her natural adventurous spirit into a full-blown penchant for adventure and a desire to live life to the fullest.

After hearing the inspiring stories from others who had travelled around Australia in their electric vehicles, Sarah suggested to Shane that what better way to showcase the possibilities of sustainable travel, and to inspire others, than to complete ‘the lap’ while towing a caravan behind their EV! So, after negotiating 6 weeks off work, they purchased an ancient caravan and proceeded to upgrade it with some modern  comforts, such as air conditioning and a king sized bed! After also installing solar panels and a battery and inverter large enough to charge the car they set off on their groundbreaking epic adventure on Boxing Day 2023.

Chris is a retired medical specialist with no technical training but a long term interest in sustainable energy and transport. He and his partner are on to their third EV and drive a BYD Dolphin and Tesla Model Y RWD, having previously owned a Tesla 3. They completed a 12,000km road trip to Sydney and return in the model Y in May 2023 before much of the current charging infrastructure was completed.