Knowledge Agora



Scientific Article details

Title Participation and sensemaking in electric vehicle field trials: A study of fleet vehicle-to-grid in Australia
ID_Doc 68726
Authors Lucas-Healey, K; Jones, L; Sturmberg, BCP; Ransan-Cooper, H
Title Participation and sensemaking in electric vehicle field trials: A study of fleet vehicle-to-grid in Australia
Year 2024
Published
DOI 10.1016/j.erss.2023.103343
Abstract Vehicle-to-grid is a niche technology that has the potential to benefit electricity markets and support more renewable energy in the grid. However, interest from prospective users in adopting V2G is not well understood, particularly in the context of fleet vehicles. Technology-oriented field trials can contribute to the development of niche technologies. Trials usually focus on making engineered systems work, institutional embedding and testing business models. However, through the participation of users they also provide the opportunity to explore processes of problem definition and the formation of social, ethical and cultural meanings. This article presents findings from the Realising Electric Vehicle-to-grid Services project, an Australian trial of vehicle-to-grid in a government-owned light passenger car fleet, aiming to explore co-productive processes as essential aspects of participatory technology development. Our data comprises interviews with organisational actors responsible for facilitating and mediating the trial, as well as others in similar organisational roles. Adopting ecologies of participation as a framework, it reveals the productive effects of these actors in mediating the local embedding of vehicle-to-grid. These findings challenge the framing of vehicle-to-grid as being a question of consumer acceptance and suggest that, for this promising technology to contribute to a more sustainable future, the electricity sector must accept more risk.
Author Keywords Vehicle-to-grid; Technology field trials; Participation; Strategic niche management; Responsible innovation
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)
EID WOS:001129057500001
WoS Category Environmental Studies
Research Area Environmental Sciences & Ecology
PDF https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103343
Similar atricles
Scroll