*4.2. Consumer*

The section discusses the views of those stakeholders that have a background in the use cases that are developed around charging infrastructure, especially stakeholders who would have a future role in determining how DWPT is likely to be used via actions that include the purchase of vehicles that are DWPT compliant.

*Capital Cost (Provider):* The importance of public charging facilities will remain highly relevant for the uptake of electric vehicles. The DWPT has the potential to "*relieve pressure on the number of charge heads (rapid static charging)*" that are required to meet future demand. The fear and anxiety among users to adopt a relatively new charging solution may affect the uptake of the DWCS. The users might as well think, "*if costs are coming down in 5–10 years, why invest now*"? Similarly, potential users may be concerned about the emergence of hydrogen-based fuels as a preferred solution for buses and heavy goods vehicles, which is the main target vehicle types for this technology. Therefore, stakeholders' acceptance of the product, proving the technology's longevity, and policies by the central and regional governments supporting DWCS were identified as critical factors to increase the user base.

*User Behaviour:* The transport pattern within the target infrastructure location drives the use of the facility. The distribution of vehicle types, user types, traffic flow, battery capacity, state of charge (SoC) thresholds, and the number of miles covered in a day by a given vehicle type are key variables that impact the charging decision-making. Similarly, the driver's range anxiety influences the decision-making for using the charging infrastructure. Smart battery management solutions are required to help make a manual or automated decision to maintain the necessary level of SoC.

*Capital Cost (User)***:** The market for the DWPT technology would be driven by commercial users who cover longer distances or consume higher levels of energy such as "*public transport services (taxies, buses and coaches), last-mile delivery and haulage companies*". Dynamic wireless charging may also provide an option for businesses to purchase smaller electric vehicles (like the Renault Zoe), which are usually cheap. However, the range of those vehicles could be increased using this charging solution. Commercial users are generally cost-sensitive; therefore, there is a need for the solution to be cost-effective compared to other vehicle charging types. Furthermore, the business customers expect the technology to integrate easily with their system without causing any operational constraints. Dynamic wireless charging can help lower the vehicle cost by reducing the size of the battery pack. In addition, a reduction in battery size may improve the vehicles' energy consumption and utility capacity. For example, it was commented that "*for a double-decker bus, we (a large-scale national coach operator) lost about two pairs of seating capacity because of the extra space required for the batteries*". Considering the advantages, a commercial user may opt for "re-*specifying the vehicles based on the availability of the dynamic charging facility along the routes*."

*Operational Cost User:* As the adoption of EVs equipped with DWPT technology grows, the challenges placed upon the power grid are most likely to increase. There is a clear interaction between the traffic pattern and demand on the grid from vehicles. Smart pricing strategies are essential to relieve the pressure on the grid during the peak power consumption period. For example, "*the cost to access the charging facility could be increased at peak times*". However, it was also suggested that the variable pricing might not be attractive to commercial users who may prefer to know the energy cost in advance for estimating their operation cost. Therefore, an arrangement is necessary between potential largescale commercial users and the solution provider.
