Conditional social acceptance of electric vehicles and V2G across transition pathways in a scenario based study

The decarbonisation of transport and energy systems increasingly depends on the electrification of mobility and the integration of electric vehicles (EVs) into wider energy networks. However, public responses to these innovations remain insufficiently understood, particularly when technologies such as Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) are still emerging and only partially tangible in everyday life. This study examines how citizens evaluate alternative energy-mobility transition trajectories and the conditions shaping the social acceptance of EVs and V2G. It combines scenario-based focus groups with exploratory cluster analysis of survey responses within a peri-urban case study in Aveiro, Portugal. The findings show that social acceptance is not expressed as a stable attitude towards specific technologies, but through the evaluation of alternative transition pathways. Participants consistently distinguished between what they considered desirable and what they perceived as feasible under current socio-technical conditions. Integrated configurations involving V2G were widely regarded as environmentally desirable but were also seen as distant, due to concerns related to infrastructure, governance, reliability and affordability. By contrast, incremental electrification pathways were perceived as more realistic because they aligned more closely with existing mobility practices and material constraints. The study suggests that social acceptance is conditional, future-oriented and socially differentiated, and shows that the viability of energy-mobility transitions depends on the extent to which transition pathways are perceived as credible, legitimate and practically workable across diverse social contexts.