Uncertain new technologies – economics of ground effect vehicle operator
Abstract
New technologies and vehicle types have become available for transportation and logistics in the recent decade. One of the such is Ground Effect Vehicle (GEV), which in new reinvented form is using electric propulsion, new lighter materials and could be without onboard pilots. These could be used in coastal and archipelago types of areas, where distances are relatively short. In this research is introduced economic and business case evaluation of GEV in the context of Canary Islands. Aim is to build understanding from financial success of GEV. Simulation model incorporates number of uncertainties, like usage life-cycle of fleet, fleet investment cost, interest rates, lower cargo volume development in the early years and possibility for passenger transports. Analysis shows that success depends quite much on cargo pricing, and the interest of customers to pay premiums from faster delivery. Being operator of GEV offers possibility for profitability, but if most of uncertainties take place, then investments might increase too much and result on significant losses. Research provides added value on discipline development and better alternative on spreadsheet and cost focused models.
Keyword : ground effect vehicle (GEV), economics, new technologies, uncertainty, simulation
How to Cite
Hilmola, O.-P., & Heljanko, E. (2025). Uncertain new technologies – economics of ground effect vehicle operator. Business: Theory and Practice, 26(1), 133–140. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2025.22454
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Lee, H., Lim, D., Lee, B., Gu, J., Choi, Y., & Lim, H. (2022). What is the optimized cost for a used battery?: Economic analysis in case of energy storage system as 2nd life of battery. Journal of Cleaner Production, 374, Article 133669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133669
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Murphy, A., Taylor, C., Acheson, C., Butterfield, J., Jin, Y., Higgins, P., Collins, R., & Higgins, C. (2020). Representing financial data streams in digital simulations to support data flow design for a future Digital Twin. Robotics and Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 61, Article 101853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcim.2019.101853
Nakashima, T., Moser, B., & Hiekata, K. (2023). Accelerated adoption of maritime autonomous vessels by simulating the interplay of stakeholder decisions and learning. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 194, Article 122710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122710
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Paek, C. S. (2006). The viability of commercializing wing-in-ground (WIG) craft in connection with technical, economic and safety aspects followed by IMO legislation [M.Sc. Thesis, World Maritime University]. Malmö, Sweden.
Papadopoulos, C., Mitridis, D., & Yakinthos, K. (2022) Conceptual design of a novel unmanned ground effect vehicle (UGEV) and flow control integration study. Drones, 6(1), Article 25. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones6010025
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