Washington is one of 17 states trying to break up with gasoline. It wants every new car sold here to be electric by 2035. 

But so far, drivers have been slow to adopt electric vehicles. Nationally, only one in ten new cars sold each year is electric. That’s because EVs are expensive, and finding a place to charge them can be inconvenient. 

So one Seattle inventor came up with a workaround. He’s developing a simple way to convert gas cars to plug-in hybrids. 

On today's episode, could transforming gas cars into hybrids jump start our all-electric future? Or will this idea stall out before it even gets rolling?

GUESTS:
Tom Gurksi, founder and CEO of Blue Dot Motorworks
Don Mackenzie, leader of the Sustainable Transportation Lab at the University of Washington

Coming up: Are you a (non-software) small business owner or entrepreneur who is using AI agents to help with your work? What are the creative ways you're using them? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Washington is one of 17 states trying to break up with gasoline. It wants every new car sold here to be electric by 2035.&nbsp;
But so far, drivers have been slow to adopt electric vehicles. Nationally, only one in ten new cars sold each year is electric. That&rsquo;s because EVs are expensive, and finding a place to charge them can be inconvenient.&nbsp;
So one Seattle inventor came up with a workaround. He&rsquo;s developing a simple way to convert gas cars to plug-in hybrids.&nbsp;
On today's episode, could transforming gas cars into hybrids jump start our all-electric future? Or will this idea stall out before it even gets rolling?
GUESTS: Tom Gurksi, founder and CEO of Blue Dot Motorworks Don Mackenzie, leader of the Sustainable Transportation Lab at the University of Washington
Coming up: Are you a (non-software) small business owner or entrepreneur who is using AI agents to help with your work? What are the creative ways you're using them?&nbsp;Give us a call at <a href="tel:2062217158" data-stringify-link="tel:2062217158" data-sk="tooltip_parent">(206) 221-7158</a> and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:booming@kuow.org">booming@kuow.org</a>. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes">kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes</a>. Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/carol-smith">Carol Smith</a>. Our producers are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/lucy-soucek">Lucy Soucek</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/alec-cowan">Alec Cowan</a>. Our hosts are <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/joshua-mcnichols">Joshua McNichols</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/authors/monica-nickelsburg">Monica Nickelsburg</a>.

Booming is a weekly podcast about the economic forces shaping our lives here in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle area's been home to many booms over the years. It’s brought jobs, people, and wealth to the region, but also real growing pains that people here feel every day. In Booming, KUOW economy reporters Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg help listeners make sense of our ever-changing economy. We'll dig into what people are seeing or feeling and unpack the story behind it.

Booming is a weekly podcast about the economic forces shaping our lives here in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle area's been home to many booms over the years. It&rsquo;s brought jobs, people, and wealth to the region, but also real growing pains that people here feel every day. In&nbsp;Booming, KUOW economy reporters Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg help listeners make sense of our ever-changing economy. We'll dig into what people are seeing or feeling and unpack the story behind it.

Booming

Could transforming gas cars into hybrids jump start our all-electric future? Or will this idea stall out before it even gets rolling?