Research Application Global Business Assignment Sample

Research Application Global Business

TABLE OF CONTENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 STUDY BACKGROUND

1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

1.3 RESEARCH SCOPE

2.0 TASKS

2.1 ANALYSIS OF CASE STUDY

2.2 SEARCH STRATEGY

2.2.1 THE RESEARCH QUESTION

2.2.2 SEARCH TERM

2.2.3 DELIMITATION OF STUDY

2.2.4 SELECTION CRITERIA

2.2.5 FINDINGS

2.3 CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF INFORMATION SOURCE

2.3.1 DATA USED

2.3.2 STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF INFORMATION SOURCE

2.3.3 DATA QUALITY

CONCLUSIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS

REFERENCES

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Electric vehicles are believed to be an effective solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Despite extensive studies on the attributes and characteristics of electric vehicles and their charging infrastructure design, the development and network of electric vehicles are still evolving and limited. Reports have shown that there is a need for Australia to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. However the large number of combustible engine vehicles in the country is a limitation to achieving such a goal, Hence the need for electric vehicles as a better and greener alternative. The Electric vehicles will be charged and recharged using only electric energy sources. These electric vehicles, when fully adopted, will be a significant method of decreasing the total generated greenhouse emission in the country. The full adoption of this vehicle type has raised several arguments on the necessities and the factors affecting the successful adoption and utilization of vehicles in Australia. These formed the basis of this research work.

This research work was restricted to critically examining the environmental policies of the Australian government in relation to EV adoptions, the possible constraint to the full utilization and procurements of EVs and the concerns about the influx of more EVs into the country. From the analysis of the case study, identifiable issues are the cost of procurement, the battery (its range and charging time) and the infrastructural support system such as charging stations and grid capacity. The research strategy adopted was doctrinal research where information used for discussions where sourced from library research. Databases useful for the study were Google scholar, sciencedirect.com, researchgate.net and Economists.

The finding of the study showed that the present infrastructural framework in Australia for EVs is at risk with the anticipated increase in the supply of EVs in the country. With an emphasis on the electricity needed of these vehicles, for charging and recharging the battery before using the car considering that the battery life will determine the distance covered, the study exposes the limited supply of this charging infrastructure in the country. While several authors argue that the grid capacity of the electricity supplied will not be sufficient to accommodate the impending demand from EVs some are of the opinion that the grid’s capacity is capable of accommodating the pressure from the EV, provided that charging is done only at peak hours. Furthermore, the findings put the relationship between the infrastructure and influx of EVs in such a way that portrays the idea that an increase in the number of electric vehicles will increase power demand by increasing the total voltage consumed daily and exposing the number of charging facilities available as limited. Conclusively the study raised concerns about the preparedness of the country to uptake EVs revealing the areas in which the government can play an active role in the adoption process. As a recommendation, the study suggested that research should be directed at methods that ensure that all new construction projects plan for installation of electric vehicle charging from creation; government should implement the plans for setting up public charging infrastructure and only vehicles with plug-compatible standards should be rolled out for the public. Finally, the study suggested that government should incorporate national and international organizations capable of utilising the drafted urban setting to fit into these improvements.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Study background

The study recognizes the increase in global sensitivity toward global warming and the dangers associated with the large amount of greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles all over the world as a propellant of most developed countries to develop policies and strategies towards making EVs a better alternative to the petrol and diesel engines vehicles (Chan and Chau, 2011). The European Union (EU) for instance has made several policy frameworks aimed at encouraging the utilization of renewable electricity and biofuel (Raymond and Polonsky, 2001). This policy framework eventually translated to the introduction of plug-in electric vehicles in EU. With deliberate efforts by the union to create possible technological pathways and the direction of a member state to include renewable energy in its transport sector,  the anticipated number of EVs introduced in 2015 will be 5 million and five years later the projections sit at 15 million EVs (Raymond and Polonsky, 2001).

1.2 Objective of the study

It is believed that road transportation is the largest form of the transportation system in the world hence this sector uses a major quota of final energy. According to Albrecht et al. (2009), the number of vehicles worldwide is about 1 billion in operation. With a projected increase by a hundred per cent in the next decade, this system of transportation will continue to be a major energy consumer. Following this fact, 20% of the energy used globally is from the transport sector (Anon, 2019). The EV provides an eco-friendly alternative to the conventional vehicles. As the name implies, Electric vehicles (EVs) are cars powered by electricity and do not use any internal combustion engine.  Rather than the liquid fossil oil used to run regular vehicles, all that is required for locomotion of EVs is a compactable battery and electric power as the energy source. EVs were developed to take advantage of an alternative energy source while reducing greenhouse gases and Carbon-based emissions by cars in the society. This study will comment on EVs’ functionality and efficient utilization.

1.3 Research Scope

This research will also assess the issues associated with EV adoption, particularly in Australia. Australia has a growing number of EVs however a huge percentage of vehicles for road transportation in the country are still Petrol powered or diesel vehicles. The study seeks to critically examine the environmental policies of the Australian government in relation to EV adoptions, the possible constraint to the full utilization and procurements of EVs which has accounted for the low market share of EVs in Australia’s transport system (Anon, 2017) and concerns for the influx of more EVs into the country.

2.0 TASKS

2.1 ANALYSIS OF CASE STUDY

Globally it has been discovered that most developed countries create new policy frameworks to facilitate the adoption of EVs in the country. These policies set by most developed countries were geared towards subsidizing the cost of procuring these vehicles by its citizens and providing the necessary infrastructure to support the efficient usage of these vehicles (Anon, 2017). Cases of government involvement are seen in countries such as Norway, Germany and England, where an increasing number of installing public charging infrastructure and purchasing EVs has attracted tax and registration discounts (Smith et al., 2017). With the anticipated increase in the number of EVs heading to Australia, it is important to recognize that the government of the country must play a significant role in the adoption process of EVs. In accommodating and utilizing these EVs heading to  Australia there will be identifiable issues which the government must put in perspective to ensure efficient adoption of EVs in the country. These issues include the cost of procurement, the battery (its range and charging time) and the infrastructural support system such as charging stations and capacity of the grid.

On the issue of pricing and cost of the vehicle, the theory of demand and supply will suggest a fall in the price of the EV in the long run with an increase in supply. In other words, as the number of EVs imported to the country increases the prices are expected to fall. For the battery range and capacity, the possibility of adjusting and improving the battery range of EVs relies on the outcome of persistent research in this area (Lucas, Silva, and Neto, 2012). However, the major characteristic of the EV in the case study is the fact that electricity serves as its power source replacing either liquid or gaseous fuel in other types of vehicles. The selling point of EVs can also be traced to the idea that people can charge their cars at home and possibly overnight to serve them the next day (Dowling, and Kent, 2015). The distance covered on any trip is limited to the battery capacity, therefore, the need for recharging the battery on the go will arise it is in cases of longer trips. To efficiently utilize EVs, public charging stations are sited at relevant places or dedicated charging stations (Anon, 2017). These charging facilities’ availability will encourage more individuals’ patronisation of EVs. Just as fuel can be topped up while taking a long trip with conventional fuel and diesel engine cars, having a fast charge during a long trip is also a factor people will consider when buying EVs.  Beyond the need to construct these charging stations, researchers (Mullan et al., 2011 ) suggest that the power sector’s grid capacity should be improved to accommodate the pressure from establishing multiple charging infrastructures in the country.

2.2 SEARCH STRATEGY

According to Dowling et al., (2015), the government must play a very active role in providing adequate infrastructural needs to accommodate the EVs in Australia before considering other issues. This infrastructure will also facilitate the driver’s patronage of EVs, eventually leading to an increase in the supply of these vehicles to the country (Anon, 2019). In agreement, the study recognizes the infrastructural requirements for the adoption of EVs in the country as the major issue for its analysis. To execute this study a doctrinal research design is adopted such that all data used for discussion were derived from a library search.

2.2.1 The Research Question

The research question raised to guide this study is thus;

What is the infrastructural requirement for the adoption of EVs in Australia?

The question seeks to efficiently analyze the infrastructural consideration for the Australian government as a major issue for the adoption of EVs in the country.

2.2.2 Search Terms

The search terms for this research are;

1. Electric vehicle

2. Adoptions of electric vehicles

3. Electric vehicle infrastructures

4. Electric vehicle adoption infrastructures

2.2.3 Delimitation of the study

Quickly looking into the selected search terms, one can almost guess that the search result will generate billions of relevant and irrelevant data to the present study. The study will direct the search terms and results to only original publications using Australia as a case study. In other words, the study will attach the phrase ‘in Australia’ to its search terms to restrict search results to Australia

2.2.4 Selection criteria

Inclusion criteria: Only publications and articles with more than five citations that are published within the last ten years are used for this study. The research will dwell on the survey of constraints and necessities for full adoption of the electric vehicles therefore articles with this theme conducted in Australia are included. In other words only publications which show the current infrastructural deposition of Australia’s transport system and the conditions for EVs adoption were consulted for this study

Exclusion Criteria: Publications later than ten years ago are excluded, and reviews and editorials are excluded from the study. Advanced technical reports and web-based guidelines are not considered in this study.  Studies published in another language other than English are excluded.

Table 3.1 Table of Research Results

2.2.5 Findings

From the data used it was revealed that the issue of infrastructural consideration in Australia was brought into lamplight by the warning of Energy Networks Australia for the electricity infrastructure and reduction in average energy peak by the growing numbers of EVs in Australia (Anon, 2017). Further data (Smith, Jabeen and Greaves, 2017) also showed that acquiring more EVs will threaten Australia’s power grid. Furthermore, the estimations performed (Lucas,  Silva and Neto, 2012) to ascertain the regional electricity supplied in relation to the electricity requirement of EVs per day showed that with the rapid increase in the supply of EVs, the electricity demand cannot be met in all regions in the country. Also, the Australian Survey of Motor Vehicle Usage (Anon, 2019) concluded that the current power generated may not meet the electricity requirement for charging and recharge of EVs if with an increase in the number of EVs in the country.

2.3 CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF INFORMATION SOURCE

2.3.1 Data Used

The information used for this study where generated from data collected from three major sources, the economist, Google scholar and Science Direct.

2.3.2 Strengths and weakness of information source

The economist is a news magazine founded on the basis of economic liberalism. The news portal is a resourceful carrier of mostly economic-related news. With the head and editorial offices in London, the economist has been able to gather significant influence on the global stage. But like most media and publication firms, the economist is subject to censorship by any country within its reach. Hence information considered sensitive by the government of any country can easily be censored, and in such cases information published is incomplete.

Google Scholar can be described as a search engine dedicated to scholarly literature. The search engine is responsible for indexing the publication of most academic materials, journals, articles and books on other platforms on the web. In other words, the search result on Google scholar will simply be extracted from all academic publications on the web related to your search keyword. Though the platform can serve as an information bank for researchers, it has been criticized for not vetting journals in its index. Science direct on the other hand is a database of scientific and medical research. All material published on this platform goes through the rigorous process of editing and vetting before publication. As a platform for the platform of peer-reviewed scholarly literature, the information sourced from this platform is often original and reliable. The downside to this platform is the access limitation it has.

2.3.3 Data Quality

In line with the inclusion criteria, only top-cited articles are used for this study. For an article to be top cited it suggests that the article possesses useful information in the research area therefore the article is considered of good quality.

3. CONCLUSION

EVs are recognized as a significant and greener replacement for the conventional fuel engine vehicles. The global acceptance of EVs stems from the fact that most government policies worldwide aim to reduce greenhouse emissions and provide alternative energy sources. With the increase in the global adoption of EVs, these vehicles are viewed as a form of sustainable personal transport in the future. This study provided a discussion of the factors affecting the adoption of EVs in Australia. The impending the Mass-importation and production of electric vehicles in years to come will make more EVs available in the country. Following this, the study highlighted the cost, battery life and infrastructure as major issues to be considered in the adoption process. As the initial numbers of vehicles are small and relatively new, the product price is dearer, and its features are subject to improvements. The study raises the concern about the government’s infrastructural preparedness for the increase in the supply of EVs in the country as a major issue. Particularly the study examines the infrastructural readiness of the country by scrutinizing the availability of public charging infrastructure and examining the electrical distribution system

In conclusion, the present limited supply of EV adoption infrastructure is a significant obstacle to household mass adoption of electric vehicles. A sufficiently high number of drivers will be reluctant to subscribe to EVs without having access to conveniently charge their cars at home and on long trips away from home. The number of ardent investors ready to champion the course of building charging stations in the country is limited leaving the country with no choice but to seek government intervention to fill this gap.

4. RECOMMENDATIONS

Given the exceedingly cost of creating EV charging infrastructure, research must be directed at methods to ensure that all new multipurpose buildings, flats and office buildings must plan to install electric vehicle charging from creation. Moreover, programs aimed at encouraging places of recreation and home charging could be of advantage to drivers of EVs. This is seen in the United Kingdom where Low Emissions vehicles administer a lower charge Scheme designed to offset most of the capital required to install an electric charging station.

Though it’s been concluded that enormous public infrastructure is needed to mitigate distance and battery range anxiety for prospective customers. As a result, the government should also implement aggressive plans for setting up public infrastructure.

There is also a need to expand the capacity of the already established infrastructure to fit into the projected and anticipated futuristic demand. In doing this, the government should incorporate national and international organizations capable of utilising the drafted urban setting to fit into this improvements.

There are presently multiple plug standards for both AC and DC charging. picking a standard for AC, and a framework for DC charging, could streamline infrastructure deployment, lessen costs, avoid legacy and redundant charging stations, and reduce confusion inside the market.

Vehicle manufacturers presently include exceptional plug standards for distinct regions, so the implementation of a single widespread policy might now not be an industrial burden. A framework should be set before the mass rollout of public EV charging infrastructure, as a substitute for the conventional combustible cars.

REFERENCES

Albrecht, A, Holyoak, N M, Pudney, P, Raicu, R, Taylor M A P, Zito, R and Groves, J 2009d. Emissions analysis of electric vehicle use. Technical report M4, Project on planning for electric vehicles in Australia. AutoCRC, Melbourne

Anon, 2012. Difference Engine: End of the electric car?[online] The Economist. Available at: <https://www.economist.com/node/21564665/comments&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwietJmFyvvhAhU3SRUIHbAKDb8QFjAFegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw1fJNlJVf-wU3uskhLHfi5J> [Accessed 2 May 2019].

Anon, 2017. An infrastructure for charging electric vehicles takes shape. [online] The Economist. Available at: <https://www.economist.com/business/2017/09/07/an-infrastructure-for-charging-electric-vehicles-takes-shape> [Accessed 2 May 2019].

Anon, 2017. Are big infrastructure projects castles in the air or bridges to nowhere?[online] The Economist. Available at: <https://www.economist.com/node/21714722/comments&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwiTpfb3yvvhAhVR1eAKHeMZCFw4ChAWMAF6BAgQEAI&usg=AOvVaw06_rzm6mshp2NGrRzyW0VP> [Accessed 2 May 2019].

Anon, 2019. Flexible cities: The future of Australian infrastructure. [online] Perspectives from The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Available at: <https://perspectives.eiu.com/infrastructure-cities/video-flexible-cities-future-australian-infrastructure> [Accessed 2 May 2019].

Chan, C.C. and Chau, K.T., 2011. Modern electric vehicle technology (Vol. 47). Oxford University Press on Demand.

Dowling, R. and Kent, J., 2015. Practice and public–private partnerships in sustainable transport governance: The case of car sharing in Sydney, Australia. Transport Policy, 40, pp.58-64.

Lucas, A., Silva, C.A. and Neto, R.C., 2012. Life cycle analysis of energy supply infrastructure for conventional and electric vehicles. Energy Policy, 41, pp.537-547.

Mullan, J., Harries, D., Bräunl, T. and Whitely, S., 2011. Modelling the impacts of electric vehicle recharging on the Western Australian electricity supply system. Energy policy, 39(7), pp.4349-4359.

Raymond Byrne, M. and Polonsky, M.J., 2001. Impediments to consumer adoption of sustainable transportation: alternative fuel vehicles. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 21(12), pp.1521-1538.

Rolim, C.C., Gonçalves, G.N., Farias, T.L. and Rodrigues, Ó., 2012. Impacts of electric vehicle adoption on driver behaviour and environmental performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 54, pp.706-715.

Smith, B., Olaru, D., Jabeen, F. and Greaves, S., 2017. Electric vehicles adoption: Environmental enthusiast bias in discrete choice models. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 51, pp.290-303.