Abstract
A glance at the product range in today’s car showrooms shows a strong commitment of all mainstream vehicle manufacturers to conventional petrol and diesel internal combustion engine (ICE) technology. These types of engines have been built and refined for more than 100 years (Cowan and Hulten, 1996). Since 1990, alternative ways of propelling vehicles have been presented by various automobile manufacturers: full electric and hydrogen driven, as well as hybrid-electric models. In general, these three alternatives have received much less R&D attention than has the dominant IC engine. Hybrid-electric engines have by now been incorporated in most car manufacturers’ research efforts, at least to some extent, and most firms consider them important in the short or medium term (Chanaron and Teske, 2007). From an environmental perspective, they should be considered to be neither a minor nor a major innovation, decreasing harmful emissions (from driving) by 10- 20 per cent (Lave and MacLean, 2002). Alongside hybrid-electric systems, more radical alternatives have also been presented. There are full electric vehicles, (re)introduced in the 1990s, and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles, introduced around 2000. These latter two types of vehicles are examples of ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs). They emit extremely low levels of harmful gases compared to existing diesel and petrol vehicles. California’s Air Resources Board defines a ULEV as a vehicle that emits 50 per cent less pollution emissions than the average for new cars released in that model year. We follow that definition here, and include CO2 as a harmful gas in the examined emissions.1
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Ajzen, I. (1988) Attitudes, Personality, and behavior. Chicago: Dorsey Press.
Ajzen, I. (1991) ‘The Theory of Planned behavior’, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process, 50(2):179-211.
Ajzen, I. and Krebs, D. (1994) ‘Attitude and Measurement: Implications for Survey Research’, in I. Borg and P. Mohler (eds), Trends and Perspectives in Empirical Social Research. New York: Walter de Gruyter, pp. 250–62.
Avadikyan, A. and Larrue, P. (2003) ‘The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles and the US DoE Transportation Fuel Cells Programme’, in A. Avadikyan (ed.) The Economic Dynamics of Fuel Cell Technologies. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, pp. 133–58.
Chanaron, J.-J. and Teske, J. (2007) ‘Hybrid Vehicles: A Temporary Step’, International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 7(4): 268–88.
Cowan, R. and Hulten, S. (1996) ‘Escaping Lock-in: The Case of the Electric Vehicle’, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 53(1): 61–80.
Jonas, K. and Doll, J. (1996) ‘A Critical Evaluation of the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behaviour’, Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 27(1): 18–31.
Lave, L. and MacLean, H. (2002) ‘An Environmental-Economic Evaluation of Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Toyota’s Prius vs. Its Conventional Internal Combustion Engine Corolla’, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 7(2): 155–62.
Malim, T. and Birch, A. (1998) Introductory Psychology. London: Macmillan.
Molot, M. (2008) ‘The Race to Develop Fuel Cells: Possible Lessons of the Canadian Experience for Developing Countries’, in L. K. Mytelka and G. Boyle (eds), Making
Choices About Hydrogen: Transport Issues for Developing Countries. Tokyo: UNU Press/ Ottawa: IDRC Press
Montalvo, C. (2002) Environmental Policy and Technological Innovation. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Montalvo, C. (2006) ‘What Triggers Change and Innovation?’ Technovation, 26(3): 312–23.
Van den Hoed, R. (2005) ‘Commitment to Fuel Cell Technology? How to Interpret Carmakers’ Efforts in this Radical Technology’, Journal of Power Sources, 141(2): 265–71.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2012 Marc Dijk and Carlos Montalvo
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dijk, M., Montalvo, C. (2012). Firm Perspectives on Hydrogen. In: Calabrese, G. (eds) The Greening of the Automotive Industry. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137018908_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137018908_8
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-35023-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-01890-8
eBook Packages: Palgrave Business & Management CollectionBusiness and Management (R0)