Consumer acceptance of automated demand response in electric vehicles

Research related to the consumer acceptance of automated demand response in electric vehicles

Period: Around 6 months beginning January 2021 or earlier

Research group and supervision: You will work with PhD researcher, Rishabh Ghotge, Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering Faculty, TU Delft and be supervised by Prof. Zofia Lukszo, Energy and Industry group, Technology Policy and Management Faculty, TU Delft.

Project details

This work contributes to both the Powerparking project, which investigates innovative use-cases for solar parking lots for electric vehicle charging as well as the Social License to Automate Annex of the International Energy Agency, which investigates the social dimensions of user engagement with automated technologies in energy systems.

Background

Electricity grids are increasingly powered by intermittent and fluctuating sources of energy such as solar photovoltaics and wind. With suitable control and aggregation, electrical loads at the distribution level can result in increased shares of renewables, lower costs of electricity and higher power quality in such grids.

Electrical vehicles are a particularly interesting use case since they represent extremely high loads with a large amount of flexibility in charging. In addition, they can also be used for energy storage through so-called vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. However, the increased commercial adoption and the consequent scaled utilization of electric vehicles for demand response depends on the acceptance of such technologies by consumers (EV users).

Based on existing literature, concerns of EV users associated with V2G are mainly related to range anxiety, perceived discomfort and battery degradation. However, there are very few operational V2G set-ups. As such, the existing literature is largely based on interviews with technology experts and current EV drivers, with few people having experienced V2G systems in operation. The opinions of both users and experts are thus informed by regular EV driving experiences and technical knowledge rather than first-hand experience of V2G.

In the Green Village, TU Delft, there is an operational V2G set-up. The charging of the project vehicle is automatically adjusted in realtime to increase the local consumption of solar energy while also shaving peaks in demand at the parking space. The system is made accessible temporarily for EV users for charging when commuting to work at the University.

Assignment

Your aim is to better understand the perceptions and attitudes of V2G users at the Green Village that influence their acceptance of V2G. You will:

1)     Understand the operation of the system and its objectives

2)     Interview the users of the system and analyse the resulting transcripts

3)     Communicate your insights through your Master thesis

Profile

·       Background in Management of Technology, Complex Systems Engineering and Management or similar.

·       Knowledge of or prior experience with interviewing techniques

·       Enthusiastic and aware about subjects like the use of solar energy in the built environment, energy storage, electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, vehicle-to-grid concepts, impacts of electric vehicles on the electric grid, etc.

·       Ability to work independently, communicate well and learn quickly on the job.

·       Working knowledge of Dutch will be an asset but is not a requirement for this project.

Response

To apply for this thesis position, please send an email to both Z.Lukszo@tudelft.nl and r.ghotge@tudelft.nl including your CV.