Sarah Cardinali

Sarah Cardinali manages the Technical Assistance for Clean Transportation group in NREL’s Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences. In this capacity, she leads overall task and resource management for transportation deployment technical assistance work, including technical assistance activities specific to alternative fuel and vehicle deployment for the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technology Office, Clean Cities coalitions, the Federal Transit Administration, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Cardinali has prior expertise in providing technical assistance for alternate fuel/vehicle deployment, strategic planning, product safety and risk management, business development, and government and industry partnerships. Prior to joining NREL in 2021, she worked for Nissan North America, Inc., focusing on vehicle engineering and product safety, as well as regulatory compliance.

Alternative fuels and fueling infrastructure

Alternative fuel vehicle and lithium-ion battery safety

Transportation regulatory planning and implementation

Transportation technology analysis

Stakeholder engagement

Vehicle technology integration

Transportation and mobility research

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

• Manager, Technical Assistance for Clean Transportation (2023–present)
• Senior Transportation Program Manager (2021–present)

Nissan North America, Inc.

• Senior Product Safety Manager (2014–2021)
• Product Safety Manager (2011–2014)
• Regulatory Compliance and Corporate Planning Program Manager (2009–2011)
• Safety & Intelligent Transportation Systems Senior Engineer (2007–2009)
• Intelligent Transportation Systems Project Engineer (2005–2007)

Assistant Program Manager, United States Air Force (2003–2005)

Brake Development Engineer, General Motors (2002–2003)