A Crypto-Token Based Charging Incentivization Scheme for Sustainable Light Electric Vehicle Sharing

IEEE European Technology and Engineering Management Summit (E-TEMS), pp. 136–140

Abstract

The ecological impact of shared light electric vehicles (LEV) such as kick scooters is still widely discussed. Especially the fact that the vehicles and batteries are collected using diesel vans in order to charge empty batteries with electricity of unclear origin is perceived as unsustainable. A better option could be to let the users charge the vehicles themselves whenever it is necessary. For this, a decentralized, flexible and easy to install network of off-grid solar charging stations could bring renewable electricity where it is needed without sacrificing the convenience of a free float sharing system. Since the charging stations are powered by solar energy the most efficient way to utilize them would be to charge the vehicles when the sun is shining. In order to make users charge the vehicle it is necessary to provide some form of benefit for them doing so. This could be either a discount or free rides. A particularly robust and well-established mechanism is controlling incentives via means of blockchain-based crypto-tokens. This paper demonstrates a crypto-token based scheme for incentivizing users to charge sharing vehicles during times of considerable solar irradiation in order to contribute to more sustainable mobility services.

Authors 5

1. Kevin Wittek Aachen Institute for Internet Security

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Internet Security, Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, RWTH Aachen University, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

   RWTH Aachen University, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

2. Sebastian Finke

   Bochum University of Applied Sciences

   Affiliation as printed

   Sustainable Technologies Laboratory, Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany

3. Nora Schelte

   Bochum University of Applied Sciences

   Affiliation as printed

   Sustainable Technologies Laboratory, Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany

4. Norbert Pohlmann Aachen Institute for Internet Security

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Internet Security, Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, RWTH Aachen University, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

5. Semih Severengiz

   Bochum University of Applied Sciences

   Affiliation as printed

   Sustainable Technologies Laboratory, Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany