TRACING LEATHER’S SUPPLY
ELECTRIC CARS COULD HAVE PREVAILED 100 YEARS AGO COUNTRY: Sweden SCHOOL: Lund University School of Economics and Management Electric cars could have been the dominant force among manufacturers in the US more than 100 years ago, according to new research from Lund University School of Economics and Management (LUSEM). It seems it is only a lack of sufficient infrastructure – in the form of electricity grids – that drove manufacturers to gasoline. ‘The slow expansion of electricity infrastructure meant that many producers early on chose to invest in gasoline cars instead of electric cars,’ said Hana Nielsen, Postdoctoral Fellow at LUSEM and co-author of the research, published in Nature Energy . ‘By the 1910s, the industry had already become locked into a technology choice that was difficult to change,’ added lead author and Associate Professor of Economic History at LUSEM, Josef Taalbi. Using a database of 36,000 American car models, the study examines the process by which electric cars were outcompeted and gasoline cars took over. Were it not for shortcomings in infrastructure at the turn of the 20th century, the researchers believe most car manufacturers would have produced electric cars, especially in cities. Given the right conditions, Taalbi reasoned that, ‘the most likely outcome is a dual transport system where the electric car could have functioned as a reliable means of transport in urban environments, while the gasoline car had advantages as a touring car. It is a common notion that early electric cars were technically inferior and more expensive. This is not entirely true. Electric cars were more expensive, but not relative to their performance. In addition, the average range was surprisingly good because early cars were light and relatively small.’ The research’s lessons for current conversations about the climate crisis and how best to implement renewable energy hinge on the importance of large-scale investments in infrastructure. ‘Lack of infrastructure or delayed measures can create incentives that not only hinder alternative technologies but also strengthen incumbent technologies,’ said Taalbi. Nielsen added: ‘Switching to electric cars would have meant a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the order of 20 million tonnes of CO2 in 1920 alone.’ / TBD
CHAIN WITH BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY COUNTRY: UK SCHOOL: Nottingham University Business School
Supply chains across the world are under pressure to be as transparent as possible to ensure products are made ethically and sustainably. To this end, Jaguar Land Rover wanted to be able to track the leather used in its cars. It partnered with software firm, Circulor, Bridge of Weir Leather Company and Nottingham University Business School to find an innovative way to follow the leather from its source. Researchers at Nottingham University Business School identified blockchain-enabled traceability which could be used without causing any significant disruption to the original operations. A ‘digital twin’ of the material was made which allowed the leather to be tracked using a combination of GPS data, biometrics and QR codes, at all stages of the supply chain. The leather used for car production is a by-product of the meat industry, and this study tracked the supply chain from farms in Scotland all the way through to the leather tannery. Using blockchain technology allowed the team to ensure that all the leather used by the automotive company was sourced from local farms, where the animals are grass fed and that deforestation had not been involved in their rearing. ‘Blockchain, as a distributed ledger technology, potentially allows an unchanging digital record of material flows across a supply chain to be created with time-stamped information recorded on the chain. Many organisations have recently become interested in developing blockchain-based platforms that capture and encrypt an exact tamper- proof record that verifies the origin and authenticity of products,’ said Professor of Operations Management at Nottingham University Business School, Bart MacCarthy. The researchers say that using blockchain technology in supply chain tracking in this way would have applications across a wide range of industries, including the fashion industry. For Jaguar Land Rover, meanwhile, the initiative forms part of its mission to have net zero carbon emissions across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039. / EB
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