Report

Engagement activities report in Azores demo

Rocha, Catarina; Nogueira, Catarina; Morais, Hugo (as project coordinator)2026

Key information

Authors:

Rocha, Catarina; Nogueira, Catarina; Leite, Joana; Martins, Rui; Branco, Francisco Soares; Brandão, Marta; Matias, Samuel; Guzman, Cindy; Martins, Carlos; Quinto, Miguel; Morais, Hugo (as project coordinator) (Hugo Gabriel Valente Morais)

Published in

February 21, 2026

Description

This report presents the engagement activities carried out under Task 6.2 of the EV4EU project, focusing on the Portuguese demonstrator in the Azores. The main objective of this task was to design and implement strategies that fostered effective communication, trust-building, and feedback collection amongst participants across three demonstrator sites: EDA’s headquarters, LREC’s office building, and private households. The engagement approach combined in-person and remote sessions, surveys, interviews, knowledge sharing about electric mobility and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technologies, continuous support through digital channels such as WhatsApp, and interaction with the Living Energy2 platform. These activities aimed to: • Explain the project’s objectives and technologies to participants. • Ensure smooth interaction between users and project partners. • Collect insights on user experience and expectations to inform future developments. Key findings indicate that face-to-face engagement sessions were highly effective in building trust and clarifying project details. The WhatsApp channel provided quick support, although it initially caused communication challenges, and its governance had to be adjusted. The Living Energy platform offered an innovative way to engage participants, but its impact was limited by connectivity issues in some households. Surveys and interviews revealed that participants valued contributing to sustainable technology development, and specially at EDA they appreciated the opportunity to charge electric vehicles (EVs) for free. However, limited EV access at LREC decrease participation rates, and technical problems with the smart charging algorithm posed significant challenges at both EDA and private households. Overall, Task 6.2 successfully achieved its engagement objectives, generating valuable lessons for future projects. Recommendations include prioritizing early in-person engagement, simplifying communication channels, and tailoring strategies to different user profiles. These insights will support the design of more effective engagement methodologies in upcoming initiatives promoting electric mobility and V2X technologies.

Publication details

Publication language (ISO code)

eng - English

Rights type:

Open access

Financing entity

European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency

Title of the project, award or grant: Electric Vehicles Management for carbon neutrality in Europe

Funding Stream: HORIZON EUROPE

Identifier for the funding entity: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100021050

Type of identifier of the funding entity: Crossref Funder

Number for the project, award or grant: 101056765