Smart charging of electric vehicles in the Netherlands: An ecosystem perspective

Abstract

The transition to sustainable electric mobility requires two key challenges to be addressed, the integration of renewable energy sources, and the mitigation of congestion on the electrical grid infrastructure. Although total energy consumption in the Netherlands has remained stable, congestion arises from the simultaneous peak demand arising from electric vehicle adoption and renewable energy deployment. This trend places significant strain on the grid, leading to substantial social and economic impacts. Consequently, both costly and timely investments in grid infrastructure are required. An immediate solution, however, can be provided by smart charging, in which the electric vehicle battery charging practices are optimised to create synergy between the available resources and grid capacity to avoid congestion issues.

A lack of coordination has resulted in insufficient incentives for the involved actors to adopt smart charging practices, as the value proposition of smart charging depends on the alignment structure of a multilateral set of partners. To address this coordination issue, ecosystem theories of Adner (2012) were presented to provide strategies for managing these dependencies. Accordingly, this research offers actionable insights on how to create a successful smart charging ecosystem for public charging infrastructure by reconfiguring the structure to provide adequate incentives for adoption.

The study involved semi-structured interviews with all actors that need to interact in order for the smart charging value proposition to materialise. This offered valuable insights to gain a deeper understanding of the current ecosystem and enables to highlight the existing risks. Three risks were identified: missing clear accountability for managing the charging session, a lack of transparency in charge scheduling and pricing, and potential displacement of the charging point operator’s business model. Collectively the three risks impede the adoption of smart charging across all ecosystem actors.

Where all actors agreed on the shared value proposition—charging based on dynamic energy prices—addressing these three risks is essential to enable the development of a smart charging market. Three reconfigured ecosystems were designed to address these risks, articulated in three distinct ecosystem blueprints. Subsequently, a focus group was organised to inform the creation of a smart charging market, and strategies derived from it. This discussion demonstrated varying levels of support across all participants across the three blueprints. Building on these insights, a final reconfigured blueprint was developed, offering a recommendation to address the identified risks within the current ecosystem and providing proper incentives for smart charging.