Conditional social acceptance of electric vehicles and V2G across transition pathways in a scenario based study
- 1Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences and GOVCOPP ‑ Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies, University of Aveiro
Abstract
The decarbonisation of transport and energy systems increasingly depends on the electrification of mobility and the integration of electric vehicles (EVs) into wider energy networks. However, public responses to these innovations remain insufficiently understood, particularly when technologies such as Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) are still emerging and only partially tangible in everyday life. This study examines how citizens evaluate alternative energy-mobility transition trajectories and the conditions shaping the social acceptance of EVs and V2G. It combines scenario-based focus groups with exploratory cluster analysis of survey responses within a peri-urban case study in Aveiro, Portugal. The findings show that social acceptance is not expressed as a stable attitude towards specific technologies, but through the evaluation of alternative transition pathways. Participants consistently distinguished between what they considered desirable and what they perceived as feasible under current socio-technical conditions. Integrated configurations involving V2G were widely regarded as environmentally desirable but were also seen as distant, due to concerns related to infrastructure, governance, reliability and affordability. By contrast, incremental electrification pathways were perceived as more realistic because they aligned more closely with existing mobility practices and material constraints. The study suggests that social acceptance is conditional, future-oriented and socially differentiated, and shows that the viability of energy-mobility transitions depends on the extent to which transition pathways are perceived as credible, legitimate and practically workable across diverse social contexts.
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BibTeX
@article{santinha2026conditional,
title = {{Conditional social acceptance of electric vehicles and V2G across transition pathways in a scenario based study}},
author = {Gonçalo Santinha and Jéssica Tavares},
journal = {Discover Sustainability},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1007/s43621-026-04219-0},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04219-0},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Conditional social acceptance of electric vehicles and V2G across transition pathways in a scenario based study
AU - Gonçalo Santinha
AU - Jéssica Tavares
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Discover Sustainability
DO - 10.1007/s43621-026-04219-0
UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04219-0
AB - The decarbonisation of transport and energy systems increasingly depends on the electrification of mobility and the integration of electric vehicles (EVs) into wider energy networks. However, public responses to these innovations remain insufficiently understood, particularly when technologies such as Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) are still emerging and only partially tangible in everyday life. This study examines how citizens evaluate alternative energy-mobility transition trajectories and the conditions shaping the social acceptance of EVs and V2G. It combines scenario-based focus groups with exploratory cluster analysis of survey responses within a peri-urban case study in Aveiro, Portugal. The findings show that social acceptance is not expressed as a stable attitude towards specific technologies, but through the evaluation of alternative transition pathways. Participants consistently distinguished between what they considered desirable and what they perceived as feasible under current socio-technical conditions. Integrated configurations involving V2G were widely regarded as environmentally desirable but were also seen as distant, due to concerns related to infrastructure, governance, reliability and affordability. By contrast, incremental electrification pathways were perceived as more realistic because they aligned more closely with existing mobility practices and material constraints. The study suggests that social acceptance is conditional, future-oriented and socially differentiated, and shows that the viability of energy-mobility transitions depends on the extent to which transition pathways are perceived as credible, legitimate and practically workable across diverse social contexts.
SN - 2662-9984
ER -