Get outta my dreams, get into my car: Transitioning to sustainable mobility in a car-dependent world
The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has accelerated rapidly in Australia over the past 3 years after languishing behind global progress for many years prior. Yet many questions remain about how to build and sustain a flourishing EV ecosystem in Australia, such as how much charging infrastructure is needed and where; how EV batteries will be collected, reused, and recycled at end-of-life; and how EVs integrate with an increasingly distributed and renewable electricity grid.
Exploring answers to these challenges is the primary research interest of Associate Professor David Keith, who was recently appointed as Associate Professor of Innovation and Sustainability in the Centre for Sustainability and Business at Melbourne Business School (MBS) after 9 years in the faculty at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
An alumnus of the University of Melbourne where he completed BEng(hons), BCom, and MEnv degrees, David began his professional career working for General Motors Holden in Product Planning.
“Working at Holden got me hooked on the automotive industry”, he said. “Competition between automakers is intense, new technologies and policies are constantly emerging, consumer preferences can change quickly, and the implications for energy consumption and the environment are profound”.
Interest in researching the future of the automobile took David to the United States where he completed a PhD in Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) exploring the dynamics of alternative fuel vehicle diffusion.
Much has happened since then – electric vehicles have gone mainstream, ride-hailing and car-sharing platforms allow consumers to enjoy the benefits of car use without ownership, and self-driving cars may one day eliminate the need for a human driver. And yet the social costs of our car dependence are clearer than ever, evidenced by traffic gridlock in cities around the world, more than one million road deaths per year around the world, and the transport sector contributing approximately one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.
“Understanding why consumers buy the cars that they do is the key to designing effective countermeasures”, said A/Prof. Keith, who is conservative about the potential for a reduction in car dependence over the coming decades. “Technological innovation is making driving cheaper, cleaner, safer, and less tiring, so it is entirely rational that drivers will do more driving rather than less, absent policies and infrastructure investments that support active modes and public transport.”
His research shows, for example, that the value of car ownership transcends merely getting from A to B, providing values such as convenience, flexibility, comfort, and status signalling, explaining why so many people choose to own their own vehicle today.
A/Prof. Keith will continue his research at MBS through the newly formed EV Transition Lab in the Centre for Sustainability and Business. The centrepiece of this research will be a computational model that simulates the turnover of the Australian on-road vehicle fleet over coming decades – cars and trucks – that allows for alternative technology and policy futures to be compared.
“Working with stakeholders through the Australian EV ecosystem, our ambition is to identify which EV pathway is most beneficial for both consumers and society, and what solutions are needed to make this a reality.”
A/Prof. Keith will deliver a keynote address on transitioning to sustainable mobility in a car-dependent world at the Melbourne Energy Institute’s forthcoming 2023 Symposium.