The ASPIRE center has been launched at a critical moment in U.S. history. Vehicles drive our national economy. In the U.S. alone, they transport more than 11 billion tons of freight and travel over 3 trillion miles per year. However, vehicle emissions have serious impacts on public health and the environment, and fluctuating oil prices affect household budgets as well as our national economic stability and security. Electric vehicles (EVs) offer tremendous opportunity to both reduce emissions and stabilize and reduce costs. But significant challenges remain in the pursuit of widespread adoption of EVs; these challenges are centered around range and the supporting charging infra-structure. At the same time, nationwide, both the transportation and electric utility infrastructure need extensive renovation, and major investments are expected in the near future (billions of dollars in the near term to hundreds of billions over the next 30 years). Now is the time to rethink these industries and set in motion plans to build for a future de-signed for widespread electrification, rather than rebuild the past.