UNE Business School Seminar with A/Prof Alexandr Akimov

The UNE Business School R&RT Committee cordially invites you to the Seminar of Associate Professor Alexandr Akimov (Griffith University), "Corporate Transitioning to Battery Electriv Vehicles: Charging Tariffs, Total Cost of Ownership, and the Potential for Load Flexibility".

The session will be held on Friday 12th July at 11:00 AM in W40 LT2 and through Zoom (Password: 787505).

Light food will be offered.

Abstract

Adopting cars that are based on non-carbon polluting technologies is an important component of the transition to net-zero emissions. Although existing literature and policy debate focuses mainly on residential car ownership, businesses and public organisations also have their share of responsibility for ‘greening’ their fleets. Early transitioning of corporate fleets delivers the additional benefit of creating a second-hand market in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for budget-conscious residential car owners.

Although significant efforts have been made to drive purchase costs down by continuous engineering innovation and policy action, new BEVs remain expensive. Because the environmental footprint of BEVs depends heavily on the technology of electricity generation, BEV charging is a critical aspect. Encouraging BEV charging at times when greener and (often) cheaper electricity is available benefits vehicle owners, the electricity grid and the environment.

This study estimates the total cost of ownership of corporate BEVs in Australia under a variety of charging scenarios. It finds that cost-reflective dynamic tariffs have the potential to drive down the costs of vehicle ownership if charging is done at the appropriate time. The degree of benefit varies according to several key parameters and operational characteristics, which means that efficient charging requires careful planning. If aggregated, corporate BEV fleets might be a useful load flexibility tool for grid operators.

Alexandr Akimov is an Associate Professor in Finance at Griffith University. He holds a Ph.D. in financial economics from the University of New England as well as Chartered Financial Analyst and Energy Risk Professional designations. In addition to academic appointments, Alexandr has held the risk management appointments at the National Bank of Uzbekistan.

He is an active member of a number of professional and research associations. His two main areas of research are energy and development finance. He has recently contributed to several completed projects sponsored by Reliable Affordable Clean Energy for 2030 Cooperative Research Centre (RACE for 2030 CRC), including on DER business models, taxation and corporate EVs. He currently leads the RACE for 2030 CRC project of flexible demand by business customers and contributed to the project on Strategic Vehicle Integration. He has led and completed the DFAT-sponsored project to train Vietnamese officials about Australian competitive electricity markets. Alexandr has published his research in Energy Economics, Australian Journal of Public Administration, Journal of Clean Energy Production, and others. Other research and supervision interests include carbon markets, public finance, and finance education.