Abstract:
The history of the developed countries is strictly intertwined to the history of
the automotive industry. Between 1985 and 1990 the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) carried out the largest survey history of the so called “the
industry of industries”. The title of the final report is evocative: The Machine that
Changed the World: it was, in fact, around the changes induced by the car industry that
modern societies have been structured, and this symbiotic relationship has come down
to the present day.
The pervasiveness of the impact of the automotive
industry on our societies justifies the study of the historical evolution of this sector and
the analysis of its moments of transition (related to technology or to organizational
aspects). This thesis aims to investigate the possible evolving scenario for the
automotive industry deriving from the deployment of the electric vehicles. The first
chapter analyses the history of the electric car from its first appearance, at the end of
the nineteenth century, to the new millennium. The second chapter examines the more
recent history of the electric mobility industry, focusing on the strategies of the major
manufacturers. Finally, the third section shifts the attention to the use of hydrogen as a
green engine
The vast majority of vehicle operators see electric mobility as the future
propulsion. Only a small minority, instead, is still in doubt. The innovation represented
by the use of hydrogen in combustion engines appears today as the solution able to
replace hydrocarbon-based propulsion, due to the fact that hydrogen, in order to
transfer energy, does not need to bind to carbon molecules, ensures a zero
environmental impact and achieves high energy efficiency Problems related to the cost
of electrolytic production of hydrogen, its high consumption if used in Ice (internal
combustion engine), production difficulties and safety problems, tend, however, to
del
