The Lawrence National Centre for Policy & Management (LNC) is thrilled to announce its affiliated faculty have been awarded the prestigious, highly competitive Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) 2024 Insight Grant.
The grant, amounting to $203,647, will support a multi-year project, titled EV Adoption: Understanding Government and Industry Actions based on Consumer Preferences & Barriers, co-led by Professor Gal Raz and Professor Romel Mostafa, who is also the Director of the Lawrence National Centre. The project aims to not only advance fundamental research on the interaction of consumer adoption, industry dynamics and policy, but also offer practical recommendations for accelerating the transition to sustainable transportation and Canada meet its environmental goals.
GHG emissions by the transportation sector are a significant contributor to climate change accounting for approximately 25% of the total emissions. To decarbonize this sector, adopting Electric Vehicles (EVs) has been deemed pivotal. In 2022, the US enacted the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest single fiscal appropriation for climate funding with extensive support for the adoption and production of EVs, setting in motion a race among advanced economies to build their competitive advantage around EVs through government-led policies. Canada has an ambitious EV edict, requiring 60% of all vehicles sold to be electric by 2030, and 100 percent by 2035. Fulfilling this edict remains a tall order, especially considering its current adoption rate, which is below the OECD average.
“Our research takes a systems approach to develop insights into adoption barriers as well as the type of policy incentives and industry actions needed to stimulate EV adoption,” said Romel Mostafa.
EV adoption critically depends on not only affordability or availability, but also other factors, such as green utility, charging infrastructure, product variety and consumer safety concerns. Addressing these factors requires the engagement of multiple stakeholders, whose interests may not be fully aligned, and therefore, a systematic approach to analyzing the challenge becomes essential.
“For example, for the development of charging infrastructure, we need consumer insights into the green utility and charging/range anxiety,” says Mostafa, “We also need to understand the competitive dynamics in collaborating or competing on battery technologies; potential market failures in attracting investments in charging infrastructure; and the role of policy in market coordination, standardization of charging networks, and public-private partnerships.”
Collaborating with Professors Mostafa and Raz are Ivey faculty Shannon Rawski and Jeffrey Boichuk. The project will also engage with a number of Ivey PhD, MBA, MSc and HBA students, as well as Lawrence National Centre staff, who will assist with research and outreach initiatives.
“We have constructed this team purposefully, in keeping with the view that research on the complex phenomenon of EV adoption requires an interdisciplinary approach, and a diverse set of expertise will be instrumental in driving the project's success,” says Professor Gal Raz. “Additionally, from the outset, we plan to engage with the key stakeholders and create opportunities for the research team and Ivey students to develop their knowledge on policy and strategy for the EV industry."
In addition to the SSHRC grant, the team has received a vital contribution from the Ivey Critical Issues Fund, which will further increase the scope of the research and its potential impact. “Together, these grants will empower researchers to take an integrated approach that combines, research, programming and outreach for high-quality, high-impact publications and dissemination,” said Raz.
The researchers plan to produce a series of academic papers, policy briefs, and case studies. Additionally, they will leverage the Lawrence National Centre’s and Ivey’s extensive programming resources to host student and industry workshops, external engagements, and a policy symposium to showcase research findings while encouraging continued dialogue between business leaders, policy makers and consumer advocacy groups to drive action.