A three-year research collaboration between Swinburne University of Technology, Jaypee University of Information Technology (JUIT) in India and the Melbourne-based Co-operative Research Centre for Advanced Automotive Technology (AutoCRC) will consider the social and technological barriers and challenges to consumer uptake of alternative energy transport in India.

 

Swinburne's multidisciplinary team of researchers are looking at how to create a mass market and increase uptake of electric vehicles.

 

Consumers in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Chandigarh and Shimla will be studied to determine:

  • Factors driving the use of alternative energy transport, such as noise pollution and environmental pollution, cost of petrol and running out of petrol
  • Availability of alternative energy transport, including the purchase price, running cost and servicing cost of such vehicles
  • Feasibility of using electric cars and other factors such as personal preference, range anxiety, children’s influence on environmentally friendly transport, issues with aging population for use of such cars and gender issues.

 

Swinburne’s Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences’ Associate Dean of Research, Professor Ajay Kapoor is leading the Swinburne team and is working in collaboration with the Australian academic community and industry participants.

At JUIT the project is led by Professor Nirupama Prakash, with Professor Alok Ray from Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi and Professor Rajesh Gill from Panjab University partners in the first phase.

 

Swinburne's electric vehicle group, led by Professor Kapoor, is positioned to make a contribution to the development of an electric vehicle industry, with more than 20 academic staff and 25 doctoral students.

 

“At Swinburne, we have an ambition to become one of the leading research intensive universities in the Asia Pacific,” Professor Kristjanson said. “We intend to build on our rich history to become the MIT of Australia by 2020, renowned for our research in the sciences, technology and studies of society.”