V2G-QUEST

V2G-QUESTS project contributes to creating inclusive, positive energy districts (PEDs) by empowering/emancipating/strengthening the power-balancing capacity of private and shared electric vehicles (EVs) in thus far EV-poor areas. These vehicles can be used as one big battery to tackle intermittent energy production and consumption in urban areas through the Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) concept, which is being assessed in several pilots. However, for V2G to positively affect the power network, it must be adopted at different geographies and socio-economical strata. Energy production and consumption are everywhere, not just in locations where higher-income people who can afford EVs live. In V2G-QUESTS, we will work in a multidisciplinary team to bring electric mobility and the concept of V2G into disadvantaged and typically excluded communities, contributing to mobility and energy transitions in PEDs. The project intends to produce specific guidelines for creating mobility-enabled PEDs demonstrated through three specific yet diverse European case studies that align citizens’ behaviour, business models, technology, power optimization, regulation and governance, and impacts in a co-creation context in typically excluded districts. Each country that is part of V2G-QUESTS brings specific expertise required to maximize the impact of V2G at local and regional scales.

The potential of Vehicle-to-Grid technology is studied in the context of three case study regions: Annelinn in Tartu, Estonia; Kanaleneiland in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and Aveiro in Aradas, Portugal.

In Estonia, we conduct expert interviews, focus groups with citizens, and a web survey to understand societal barriers and needs in the future application of Vehicle-to-Grid technology. Specifically, we investigate the potential in the context of housing estates, incl. reconstruction and smart retrofit of existing housing estates, the application of solar panels, and the development of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in case of both existing and new houses.

The focus groups in Annelinn in 2024 

The focus group interviews with residents of Annelinn were held in November and December 2024. More information in Estonian and Russian can be found at the links below.

Web survey in spring 2025

The survey focused on people’s willingness, including their risk tolerance, to adopt electric vehicles with Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) capability in their daily mobility. The spatial focus of the research was the Tartu urban area and its surrounding regions, stemming from one of the focal areas of the international V2G-QUESTS project in Annelinn. The study enabled a comparison of residents’ readiness to adopt V2G-enabled electric vehicles across socio-economic and demographic groups throughout the urban area. Similar to Tartu, the online surveys conducted in the Netherlands and Portugal also covered a broader spatial context than the specific focal area, in order to better understand spatial differences and the unique characteristics of the focus areas within a wider urban setting. The survey methodology was developed by Delft University of Technology. The online survey data were collected with the help of the research company Norstat Eesti AS.

Presentations and media coverage

• Poom, A., Paršova, D. (2025). Elektriautode laadimistaristu planeerimine olemasolevasse korterelamupiirkonda: elanike ootused, võimalused ja takistused. Eesti Sotsiaalteadlaste Aastakonverents, Tallinn, 09.05.2025

• Project name: V2G-QUEST: Vehicle to Grid for Equitable Zero-Emission Transitions in Positive Energy Districts
• Duration: December 2023 – November 2026
• Funding: Estonian Research Council; Driving Urban Transitions
• Lead partner: Technical University of Delft, PI Gonçalo H. A. Correia
• Principal Investigator at the Mobility Lab: Age Poom
• People involved: Daiga Paršova, Liisa Pihus, Arina Nosikova, Anto Aasa, Arvi Kiik
• Collaboration partners in Estonia: City of Tartu, Eesti Energia
• Project information in the Estonian Research Information System