Past event
Event ·
27 Jan 2026, 08:30 -
10:30
GMT
·
United Kingdom
CMS Breakfast Seminar: Investment into Future Mobility and Transport Decarbonisation
CMS London
Event details
Programme
27 Jan 2026 Past event
08:30 - 10:30 GMT
Our next CMS Breakfast Seminar will consider the next wave of opportunities in future mobility. We will explore investment and financing strategies, showcase emerging business models, and highlight future regulatory and technological trends that are accelerating the decarbonisation of transport internationally. This will be a discussion focused on investors (both strategic and financial) seeking to deploy capital into the sector, as well as the businesses seeking to raise it.
The event will be taking place on Tuesday 27 January at our CMS London office.
You will have the opportunity to hear from and meet key individuals from across the international energy and future mobility investor community as well as from infrastructure and technology businesses that are pioneering the transport transition.
Our speakers will feature Dr. Andy Palmer, the ‘Godfather of EV’ (having brought the first commercially produced EV, the Nissan Leaf, to market), currently CEO at Palmer Energy (BESS manufacturer) and former Chairman of Pod Point, CEO Aston Martin and COO Nissan; and Sam Clarke, Head of eHGV at Gridserve and presenter of the EV Café and Fully Charged programmes.
Our discussion will cover:
- Market Trends - Current transport decarbonisation investment trends and recent market examples in the UK, EU and beyond
- Investment Case – The latest features of business models (including flexibility revenues and V2G) attracting investment and associated risks and challenges
- Future Facing - 2030 and beyond – developments in different international markets, policy, regulation and technology that will impact the pace of transition.
Tea, coffee and pastries will be served from 08:30, with the event commencing at 09:00. There will be an opportunity before and after the panel to network with others involved in the industry and to ask our speakers any questions you may have.
Speakers
Dr. Andy Palmer – CEO at Palmer Energy and former Chairman of Pod Point, CEO Aston Martin and COO Nissan
Dr Andy Palmer CMG is a chartered engineer and automotive executive who has led major transformations at Aston Martin and Nissan. Starting as a 16-year-old apprentice, he rose to Nissan COO, where he drove product renewal and led the development of the Nissan LEAF. Appointed CEO of Aston Martin in 2014, he oversaw new model launches including DBX and Valkyrie, opened a UK manufacturing plant and steered the company through Brexit and Covid. Today, Andy sits on the boards of various companies in the automotive and clean energy space, as well as running consultancy, Palmer Automotive and BESS company, Palmer Energy Technology. Andy supports apprenticeships through his foundation, the Palmer Foundation.
Priya Veerapen – Managing Director at Infracapital
Priya joined Infracapital in 2021 to develop the Greenfield infrastructure investment activities. Priya has over 17 years’ experience in infrastructure financing, development and asset management experience. Priya joined Infracapital from Deloitte where she was a director in the infrastructure advisory team advising infrastructure fund clients on telecoms, energy, transport project financings and acquisitions. Prior to Deloitte Priya was a Vice-President at Canadian developer Ledcor as well as a Director with 3i plc where she was responsible for origination, execution and asset management of infrastructure investments across sectors including energy transmission and generation, accommodation and transport. Priya transferred to 3i plc following their acquisition of Barclays Infrastructure Funds Management, where she was an Investment Director. Priya holds an MSc degree in Economics from University College London and a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford. She is authorised to undertake investment activities by M&G under the Certification Regime.
Sam Clarke – Head of eHGV at Gridserve and presenter of the EV Café and Fully Charged Programmes
Sam Clarke is a life-long entrepreneur, industry advisor, EV owner for 23 years and a four-time Guinness World Record Holder for EV driving and riding. His EV journey started back in 2002 with electric motorbikes before founding a zero-emission logistics firm (Gnewt) which he sold to John Menzies Plc in 2017. He now works on national public charging infrastructure needs for GRIDSERVE, in particular eading on the £100M+ Government funded (ZEHID) eHGV Electric Freightway Project. He is also a founding member of The EV Café webinar and news channel. In 2015, Sam was a Great British Entrepreneur’s Award winner and by 2022 he was made a GreenFleet EV Champion for services to the industry. In 2024 he was voted #1 in the Motor Transport Power Players list and #8 in the greenfleet.net top 100 most Influential list in 2025. He also holds #4 Guinness World Records for the longest journeys ever driven in an electric car, SUV, van and motorbike on a single charge (569, 581, 311 and 192 miles respectively).
Reza Shaybani – Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) The EV Network - Powering the future of electric vehicles
Reza has 30 years’ experience in managing public & private technology focused companies in the semiconductor, solar photovoltaic & energy storage industries, possessing vast management, Directorship and CEO-level experience. In 2017, Reza co-founded “The EV Network” a dedicated EV charging infrastructure development and investment company to build a network of ultra-fast public chargers under a unique business model. In 2020, The EV Network raised £300m to develop some of UK’s best EV charging infrastructure. Reza has an extensive political, industrial & financial global network.
Daniel Lyons – Managing Partner at Improved CF
Daniel is a Managing Partner at IMPROVED Corporate Finance. Since joining in 2022, he has advised on a wide range of M&A and growth financing transactions across transport decarbonization, climate tech, and the broader energy transition. Daniel brings a unique perspective from extensive buy side and sell-side M&A experience in the sector. Previously, he led global investments and M&A in future mobility and e-mobility at Shell plc. Before that, he spent 16 years in strategic advisory roles focused on Technology, Mobility, and Automotive at Macquarie, EY, and Accenture. He is passionate about accelerating the shift to sustainable mobility and clean energy solutions worldwide. Daniel holds a BCom from the University of Birmingham and is based in London.
Dan Kaufman – Partner at CMS, Future Mobility and Transport Decarbonisation Lead
Daniel is a Partner in the Energy & Climate Change Team, specialising in transport decarbonisation and e-mobility. He has recently held senior legal and executive roles at bp Pulse, Pod Point and fleet and depot electrification specialist, VEV (Vitol Group). Daniel brings a strong ‘client-side’ perspective on the transport & energy transition, having helped leading companies in this space with project execution, M&A, financing and establishing new revenue models from grid flexibility and international market expansion. He has also advised investors, developers, lenders, utilities, and offtakers on power and infrastructure projects around the world.CMS EV Brochure
Publication
PDF
2.1 MB
CMS Electric Vehicles Brochure 2026
CMS Experts
EV Resources
Smart Secure Electricity System (SSES) Programme: The proposed load control regime at a glance
Battery Electric Vehicles from China: a timely update on the EU’s anti-subsidy duties and the Commission’s new guidance on price undertakings
EU Sustainable Batteries Regulation: Where are we now?
Self-driving vehicles: A reality not too far in the future
Charging ahead: ECJ facilitates amendments of long-term concessions to cover electric vehicle charging infrastructure
Location
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Cannon Place
78 Cannon Street
London
EC4N 6AF
United Kingdom
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Cannon Place
78 Cannon Street
London
EC4N 6AF
United Kingdom
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