Lieselot Vanhaverbeke

Discrete models for competitive location with foresight

We adapt the competitive location model based on maximal covering to include the knowledge that a competitor will enter the market later with a single new facility. The objective is to locate facilities under a budget constraint in order to maximise the remaining market share after the competitors later entry. We develop mixed zero-one programming formulations for each of the following three strategies: the maxmin strategy where the worst possible competitor choice is considered, the minimum regret strategy, and the von Stackelberg strategy in which the competitor also optimises its market share. Some computational results show the feasibility and limits of these models.

Maximal covering location problem with price decision for revenue maximization in a competitive environment

In this article, we extend the classical maximal covering model in a competitive environment by including a price decision. We formulate a revenue maximization model and propose two procedures to solve it. By a careful examination of the relationships between the maximal covering problems for different prices, we reveal interesting properties of the deduced revenue maximization model, leading to a full enumeration solution approach. With the help of two more properties we develop a second, more intelligent solution procedure. Computational experiments show promising results for a small, medium and large case study.

Total cost of ownership of electric vehicles incorporating Vehicle to Grid technology

High purchase prices of electric vehicles (EV) currently still limit market adoption. Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) could provide an opportunity to make profit on EV grid connectivity, and thus reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in comparison with conventional vehicle technologies. This study is a first step towards integrating V2G benefits in TCO modelling. Our Belgian case study on the city, medium and premium car segment illustrates that the benefits according to the current market conditions are very limited, more specifically the total cost decreases through V2G with 1%–2,59% over the lifetime of a vehicle. Through a Monte Carlo analysis on energy prices and the V2G contract conditions, it is shown that currently mainly in the premium market there is potential for a shift towards cleaner vehicles based on lowest total cost of vehicle technology.