Ny doktorsavhandling med fokus på transportsystemets omställning och finansiering

I avhandlingen, med titeln Cost and financing of the sustainability transition of the Swedish road freight transport sector, undersöks även laddningsstrategiers inverkan på kostnaderna och forskningen är kopplat till projektet Transportsystemets omställning och finansiering (TOF).

Stort grattis till både avhandling och disputation, Elmira! Här kommer hennes egna reflektioner och takeaways från arbetet:

What have you researched?

– In my PhD studies, I examined the sustainability transition of the Swedish road freight transportation system from both cost and financing perspectives. From a cost perspective, I have conducted various scenario analyses on the transition costs at both the technology and system levels. 

– From a financial standpoint, I have investigated the sectors' readiness for electrification by simulating the actors' access to financing and its impact on their fleet electrification. Furthermore, I have studied the barriers to circular economy implementation and their complex interactions within the battery ecosystem.

What are your key takeaways?

– My main findings reveal that the TCO (total cost of ownership) for different powertrains heavily relies on charging strategies that affect electricity prices – an integral part of truck TCO. 

– Battery factors like state of charge, depth of discharge, and temperature influence battery capacity, yielding cost savings in scenarios with reusing end-of-life batteries. The circular economy of batteries, however, faces challenges due to regulatory, market, technology, actor, and task-related barriers and their complex interactions, complicating battery reuse. 

– In freight transportation financing, fleet electrification is challenging on a system level due to limited access to financing and dynamic changes in actors’ financial measures impacting their subsequent replacement decisions.

What would you like to see further research on?

– When it comes to the cost analysis; while my research delves into charging strategies and their impact on TCO and system costs, it does not include the impact of electricity price volatility on potential cash flow risks and the electric trucks’ TCO. In my future research, I would like further to investigate such cash flow risks and potential policies to overcome them. 

– Additionally, my transition financing simulation research is limited to internal financing, debt financing, and equity financing. In future research, I would like to explore new financing business models such as renting, leasing, and subscription, and study how they would impact the overall sustainability transition of the road freight transportation sector.