Abstract
The massive digitalization of information through social networks and Internet of Things and the development of digital platforms have led the European Commission to identify as a priority the regulation and governance of the innovation in the European transportation industry. The European Commission Communication to the European Parliament (COM (2020) 789) “Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy” sets forth the EU strategy for the EU transport system to achieve its green and digital transformation and become more resilient to future crises. According to the European Commission vision, thorough innovation will shape the mobility in urban and rural areas, improving furthermore smart and electric vehicles. However, the European Commission is also aware that the above-mentioned target will be achieved only “if the right conditions are put in place”. Following the European Commission human-centered approach, the research project aims to analyze the sustainability of connected and electric mobility for consumers, citizens and SMEs. The research team will take advantage of different expertise (legal, electrical engineering and informatic engineering) and adopt a multidisciplinary approach to identify ‘the right conditions’ - from a legal and technical perspective – for the human-centered innovation of the EU transportation industry. The research will begin with the analysis of the existing remedies put in place – in the European Union and other major legal systems, like the USA and China - against the risk that smart mobility can endanger people fundamental rights, including but not limited to the rights on personal data, the individual self-determination, the freedom of movement, the right to not be affected by wholly automated decisions. It will be assessed whether and to what extent the existing remedies in different legal systems are sufficient to properly protect people fundamental rights whenever it comes to a wholly connected mobility system. A further research topic concerns the sustainability of a wholly connected mobility system given the huge amount of power supply they need for their proper functioning and the limited capacity of the existing power grids. The research will analyze the risk that the implementation of a whole connected and electric mobility system can endanger the security of energy supply and the human right to freely movement. By way of solution for the prospective energy supply problems as above mentioned, the research will take into account the opportunity of putting in place prosumers energy communities and the advantages that can be taken thereof. The strategic importance of prosumers energy communities is confirmed by the fact that their development has been identified also by the PNRR “M2C2: ENERGIA RINNOVABILE, IDROGENO, RETE E MOBILITÀ SOSTENIBILE” as an action to achieve the mission for a “green revolution and ecologic transition” on a national level. In order to perform the above-mentioned study, the research team will be supported by a medium player in the energy market that has agreed to share its on field experience and validate the findings and theoretical proposal of the project. In the end, the establishment of prosumers energy communities could be regarded as one of the “right conditions” to be put in place according to the EU Commission and the Italian PNRR, in order to grant that the transition toward a wholly smart mobility system is truly sustainable in terms of human rights protection and energy power security. OUTCOME OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT As an outcome of the project, a multidisciplinary scientific monograph will be published in open source to raise awareness about the actual implications of the SSMS and of the different aspects it involves and, at the same time, to identify legal, economic and technical solutions for the development of energy communities as a potential solution to the major concerns raised for the deployment on large scale of EV and therefore the achievements of the targets fixed by the SSMS. To properly validate and disseminate the findings of the “S.O.S. Mobility” project the team has presented the results of their work to the scientific community, stakeholders and public authorities. To this end the whole research group, under the coordination of the P.I., has performed several specific tasks, including: a) organizing a Symposium on 27.11.2024 at the University of Bologna with the active participation of public authorities’ representatives and market operators; b) establish an active cooperation with private and public think tanks and research institutes at national and European level. (See 2-days conference on 17 and 18 june 2025 at the University of Bologna also in cooperation with SISDIC) c) the dissemination of the findings of the project will be carried out among market operators and academics, as well, with the purpose to raise awareness on the sustainability of the development of smart and electric mobility (ARERA and many market operators attended the 27-11-2024 symposium and are going to contribute to the final publication). The “S.O.S. Mobility” Project’s outputs has fostered the scientific debate from this particular point of view, also in light of its financial independence from market operators. At the same time the Project’s outputs have maintained a practical approach thanks to its multidisciplinary research team and various analysis performed on real case studies. The project outcomes include the assessment of current legislation and policies against the risk that smart electric mobility, without proper legal frameworks, may threaten fundamental rights, including data protection, self-determination, freedom of movement and protection from wholly automated decisions. The analysis helps lawmakers govern the physical and digital infrastructure needed for SSMS implementation. It identifies actions and legal tools to empower users and SMEs and foster sustainable market development. It should generate recommendations to limit automotive platforms’ power, remove incentives for anti-competitive strategies and propose regulatory frameworks that preserve value creation while ensuring fair value sharing. State and local authorities may benefit from its best-practice collection. Finally, outputs may raise awareness among stakeholders of the social, economic and environmental impact of SSMS, support guidelines and fair standard contracts, and use the technical solutions studied to overcome implementation barriers. Moreover, the Project has identified a legal, economic and technical model for the development of energy communities, which might solve the major concerns raised by the deployment on large scale of EVs and allow to achieve the targets fixed by the SSMS. The interdisciplinary and coordinated research can then have a relevant practical, social and economic impact. From the engineering perspective on electrical power systems, the project focused on the design and development of a local smart electricity market where small consumers and prosumers can trade produced electricity and participate in the markets of auxiliary services of transmission or distribution system operators. This scheme is expected to facilitate the transition to a more sustainable private mobility. Therefore, the project deals with networked microgrids and communities that incorporate both renewable generation and parking lots equipped with a large number of bidirectional charging stations for EVs. The expected impact mainly refers to the energy saved by increasing the use of green energy through the improved scheduling of generation and storage units that follow the demand. This is also useful for system operators. In fact, the smoothing of the load pattern can postpone the need of enlarging and upgrading the electric power distribution infrastructure, reduce the system operation costs by exploiting the flexibilities provided by the increased availability of storage facilities in the energy communities, decrease the import of energy and the dependence on external markets, provide opportunities for the utilization of smart grids technologies
Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Chiara Alvisi
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche e Sociali
Coordinatore:
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna(Italy)
Contributo totale di progetto: Euro (EUR) 211.942,00
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 159.023,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
28/09/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
