Electric Vehicles and the Supply Chain

Catalog description

The course covers the businesses, economics, policies, and technologies enabling the electrification of various modes of transportation—road, railroad, marine, air. Sub-segments within each of these modes are adopting electric drivetrains at varying speeds. Currently in the US, transportation accounts for C. 25% of energy consumption and is over 90% fueled by petroleum as its primary energy source. The transition from internal combustion to electric drivetrains is not only capital intensive, but also involves building and scaling new supply chains involving various critical minerals spanning geopolitically sensitive regions of the world. The automotive industry intercepts a wide range of industries—batteries; chemicals and materials; electrical, electronic and mechanical components and parts; engines; fuels; semiconductors; software; among many others such as dealerships, insurance and other service providers—and are subject to several disruptive forces. The pathways legacy players and new entrants take to be aligned with their stakeholders’ (communities, consumers, employees, investors, policymakers, etc.) expectations will involve numerous tradeoffs to arrive at good business decisions and investments. The supply chain will likely see a fair number of mergers and acquisitions in the near-term.