Optimizing electric fleet management with vehicle-to-grid services for profitability and grid stability: a case study of ridehailing in Lisbon

Abstract

This dissertation assesses the economic viability of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) participation for an electric ride-hail fleet operating out of Lisbon while also examining the service and regulatory landscape in which V2G is economically justified. Realistic traffic generation using a ride-hailing fleet of twelve vehicles is integrated with mixed-integer linear. It is programmed to pre-screen charging and discharging over 15-minute intervals based on Portuguese day-ahead pricing and a Monte Carlo approach for battery round-trip efficiency and degradation penalty sampling. Three scenarios are analysed: (i) a base case with voluntary, price-driven participation under current market conditions; (ii) a minimum energy dispatch requirement; and (iii) minimum dispatch combined with availability-based capacity remuneration. Without incentives, profitable V2G events are rare: in the base case, only 1.6% of simulations exported any energy, indicating that price arbitrage alone seldom justifies discharge. Imposing a minimum-dispatch requirement generally erodes value. By contrast, introducing capacity payments shifts outcomes decisively positive: approximately 70% of simulations become profitable, with a viability threshold — the capacity tariff at which at least half of cases yield a positive Net V2G Benefit — close to €0.062 /kWh. Precision matters: short, well-timed discharges proved more effective than bulk delivery. Ultimately, V2G can provide an additional revenue stream and electric grid revenuegenerating service when fleets can afford idle periods; however, to ensure consistent economic viability, selective engagement with market compensation elements is crucial. This study contributes to operational decision-making for V2G fleets and to the design of regulatory policies, while paving the way for future studies involving aggregators, capital investment, and the expansion to other variable load processes, such as frequency regulation.

Incoming