Deriving vehicle-to-grid business models from consumer preferences

René Bohnsack

doi:10.3390/wevj7040621

Abstract

Combining electric cars with utility services seems to be a natural fit and holds the promise to tackle various mobility as well as electricity challenges at the same time. So far no viable business model for vehicle-to-grid technology has emerged, raising the question which characteristics a vehicle-to-grid business model should have. Drawing on an exploratory study amongst 189 Dutch consumers this study seeks to understand consumer preferences in vehicle-to-grid business models using conjoint analysis, factor analysis and cluster analysis. The results suggest that consumers prefer private ownership of an EV and a bidirectional charger instead of community ownership of bidirectional charger, they prefer utility companies instead of car companies as the aggregator and they require home and public charging. The most salient attributes in a V2G business model seem to be functional rather than financial or social. The customer segment with the highest willingness to adopt V2G prefers functional attributes. Based on the findings, the study proposes a business model that incorporates the derived preferences.

Highlights

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology is emerging as a sustainable technology which combines energy with mobility
Before moving to the empirical results, we describe the main tenets of V2G business models and the methodology
The preferred value network and revenue model is examined by means of a conjoint analysis

Summary

Introduction

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology is emerging as a sustainable technology which combines energy with mobility. In theory, when households combine an electric car, solar panels and a smart meter, they could be autonomous from the grid, could become electricity provider and could generate revenues through smart charging and trading of electricity. This scenario is currently only adopted by a small group of technology enthusiasts. The question is how vehicle-to-grid technology can be popularized to an audience beyond technology enthusiasts. Drawing on an online survey amongst 189 Dutch respondents, this study seeks to explore consumer preferences in vehicle-to-grid business models. Before moving to the empirical results, we describe the main tenets of V2G business models and the methodology

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion