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Reframing Transportation for Blue Ocean Results
Many of my recent posts have focused on cars. I’m not obsessed with the topic. But, there are changes, or more accurately, opportunities for radical change in the auto industry. These exemplify disruptive innovation as defined by Kim and Mauborgne in their book Blue Ocean Strategy.
Traditional auto makers are struggling to increase mileage, making what amounts to incremental improvements. The actual increases have been small. It seems that downsizing autos is the only way to increase fuel efficiency. Hybrids have made some improvements, but we’re not seeing double-digits in the MPG rating on any production car.
In a piece written by Mary-Sue Haliburton, the tragic inefficiency of the internal combustion engine is outlined clearly. Consider that 65% of the fuel consumed by an internal combustion engine is used to push pistons, cams, crankshafts, and other moving engine parts. Another 6% is squandered in the transmission. Accessory loads and idling drain another 11%. That leaves about 16% of the fuel invested to actually move the vehicle. You do the math. It’s a lot of waste to force heavy equipment into transporting a 150 pound driver to the store. Improving fuel efficiency will have to do better than a few miles per gallon to make any real difference. The limitation is the engine itself.
Enter disruptive technologies.
In the film Who Killed The Electric Car?, electrical alternatives to auto motion are explored. It is cheaper to produce than gasoline or diesel. Electric cars are much cleaner to operate. While there are limitations with battery storage, those issues can be overcome. That same problem once plagued early laptop batteries. Could electric cars replace internal combustion transport completely? Probably not in the near future. But if the bulk of your driving is less that 100 miles and a home charger is standard equipment, it’s certainly an interesting proposition.
Electricity isn’t the only potential non-petroleum option. Angelo Di Pietro has created a motor which is powered by compressed air. Electric cas can eliminate weighty and cumbersome systems. A car propelled by two 28 pound compressed air motors requires even less machinery to operate. Say goodbye to exhaust systems and radiators. Down size the frame and suspension. The goal is to efficiently move people, not hardware. See more details on Di Pietro in a later post.
These two examples demonstrate that alternative vehicles can perform functions like standard cars, converting other forms of energy into motion without wasting 84% of the fuel source. But first, we have to be willing to reframe our perception of transportation. The purpose of a car is to move people and their accessories from one place to another. If we can let go of existing models of how vehicles work, how we feed them and how we use them, there is a blue ocean of possibilities.
Disruptive technologies succeed when the convenience, the cost and/or the functionality are mre attractive than the current model. It’s clear that fossil fuel is getting more expensive by every measure – financial, human lives and atmospheric impact. It’s also clear that alternatives exist which could greatly alter this picture. SUVs aren’t going away any time soon. But, if their use could be limited to weekend excursions instead of daily errands, maybe there is a future for radically different solutions to transportation.
Chas Martin
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