Abstract for: Co-creating Energy Solutions

This presentation invites you on a journey to different forms of co-creation in the energy field. In the effort of fighting climate change, new energy solutions emerge that disrupt the roles of consumers and producers. The presented study investigates at the case of a battery swarm. Consumers and providers form an alliance to help balance supply and demand on the energy market, together, in a climate-friendly way. How can such decentral flexibility solutions overcome the technology valley of death and compete with centralized solutions such as gas-fired power plants? Under which conditions are consumers willing to co-create flexibility? In an empirically-supported System Dynamics model, business strategies to launch and maintain a battery swarm are tested. To represent consumer decisions as realistic as possible, the modelling of consumer decisions is substantiated with empirical data from a choice experiment. The study is conducted in close collaboration with a Swiss electric utility company, with a research team consisting of academics and energy professionals. This presentation reports not only on the insights on business strategies for the design of consumer-provider alliances, but also the benefits of combining System Dynamics with empirical methods and the opportunities arising from diversity in research teams.