# Christian Kaps

> Christian Kaps is an Assistant Professor in the Technology and Operations Management unit at Harvard Business School. His research focuses on emerging topics in sustainable electricity generation and storage — how new technologies, sustainability behavior, and policies shape the future energy market. He uses analytical modeling, structural estimation, and machine learning. He is a faculty associate at Harvard's Climate and Sustainability Impact Lab and the Salata Institute, and teaches Technology and Operations Management to MBA students. He received his PhD in Operations Management from the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania).

Contact: ckaps@hbs.edu
HBS faculty profile: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=1495309
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.de/citations?user=YnzK7qsAAAAJ
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-kaps-a4143487/
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4642-010X
Research archive (all papers & cases): https://christiankaps.com/archive.html

## Published Papers

- [Residential Battery Storage – Reshaping The Way We Do Electricity](https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.2024.1104): Christian Kaps & Serguei Netessine, Operations Research (published online 2025). Structural estimation of household behind-the-meter battery + rooftop solar investment; estimates a "nonmarket valuation" for self-generated solar (median 0.29 EUR/kWh in German data); analyzes storage rebound, emissions effects, and grid-load impacts. SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4219247
- [When Should the Off-grid Sun Shine at Night? Optimum Renewable Generation and Energy Storage Investments](https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.04129): Christian Kaps, Simone Marinesi & Serguei Netessine, Management Science (2023). Strategic capacity investment model for solar + storage in off-grid settings with fossil backup; shows generation and storage are strategic complements (and sometimes substitutes); calibrated on three islands. SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3761397
- [An Evaluation Of Cross-Efficiency Methods: With An Application To Warehouse Performance](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amc.2021.126261): Bert Balk, M.B.M. René de Koster, Christian Kaps & José de Zofío, Applied Mathematics and Computation (2021). Compares cross-efficiency (DEA) methods on European warehouse data; finds decreasing returns to scale and the superiority of the classic Sexton et al. (1986) method. SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3083526

## Working Papers

- [Are We There Yet? Evaluating the Transition to EVs](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6545458): Christian Kaps, Michael W. Toffel & Ulrich Niklas. HBS Working Paper 26-062 (2026). Uses telemetry from 300,000 U.S. vehicles to show modern BEVs are driven as far/often as ICEs and re-examines range anxiety and the role of home-proximate charging.
- [Charging Fast and Slow: Quantifying the Real-Life Value of EV Charging for Users, OEMs, and the Grid](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7094098): Christian Kaps, Thomas S. Palley & Leann Thayaparan. HBS Working Paper 27-003 (2026). Combines a stylized model with telemetry from 20,000+ U.S. EVs and 1.5 million charging events to quantify managed charging (V1G and demand response) value for users, OEMs, and the grid; finds V1G savings often misalign with utility costs and only 9.4% of vehicles can be profitably enrolled in DR.
- [How to Choose Among Technologies With Learning Curves: Making Better Investment Decisions](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5168106): Christian Kaps & Arielle Anderer.
- [Moving Money Around: Mobile Energy Storage and the Value of Geospatial Flexibility](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5917782): Vishrut Rana, Christian Kaps & Serguei Netessine.
- [OM Grand Challenges: SDG 7 - Managing Decentralized Assets and Actors for the Clean Energy Transition](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7089258): Christian Kaps, Serguei Netessine, Vishrut Rana & Ömer Karaduman (2026). Reviews the operational grand challenges behind SDG 7 — closing energy access gaps while scaling renewable generation and integrating intermittent supply — and outlines how the operations management research community can contribute.
- [When Batteries Meet Hydrogen: Dual-Storage Investments for Load-Shifting Purposes](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4993905): Christian Kaps & Simone Marinesi.
- [When Where Watt: Harnessing the Value of Time and Location for Renewable Electricity Generation](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5103344): Vishrut Rana, Christian Kaps & Serguei Netessine.

## Teaching Materials (Harvard Business School Cases)

- [Southern Company: Powering the Future](https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/626056-PDF-ENG): Christian Kaps, Hise Gibson, Alicia Dadlani & Ai-Ling Jamila Malone, HBS Case 626-056 (2025). Southern Company / Georgia Power facing surging electricity demand from data centers and electrification; choosing among natural gas, nuclear, and a diversified strategy while allocating $70+ billion in capital. Teaching Note 626-091.
- [Hurtigruten: Sea Zero](https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/625100-PDF-ENG): Christian Kaps & Michael W. Toffel, HBS Case 625-100. Hurtigruten deciding whether to build a fully electric cruise ship for the Norwegian coast, requiring port charging infrastructure and a $250M investment under emissions-target uncertainty. Teaching Note 626-030.

## Individual Pages (canonical on-site URLs)

- [Residential Battery Storage – Reshaping The Way We Do Electricity](https://christiankaps.com/papers/residential-battery-storage.html): Christian Kaps & Serguei Netessine, Operations Research (published online 2025)
- [When Should the Off-grid Sun Shine at Night?](https://christiankaps.com/papers/off-grid-sun-shine-at-night.html): Christian Kaps, Simone Marinesi & Serguei Netessine, Management Science (2023)
- [An Evaluation Of Cross-Efficiency Methods](https://christiankaps.com/papers/cross-efficiency-methods-warehouse-performance.html): Bert Balk, M.B.M. René de Koster, Christian Kaps & José de Zofío, Applied Mathematics and Computation (2021)
- [When Batteries Meet Hydrogen: Dual-Storage Investments for Load-Shifting Purposes](https://christiankaps.com/papers/batteries-meet-hydrogen.html): Christian Kaps & Simone Marinesi (working paper)
- [When Where Watt: Harnessing the Value of Time and Location for Renewable Electricity Generation](https://christiankaps.com/papers/when-where-watt.html): Vishrut Rana, Christian Kaps & Serguei Netessine (working paper)
- [How to Choose Among Technologies With Learning Curves: Making Better Investment Decisions](https://christiankaps.com/papers/technologies-with-learning-curves.html): Christian Kaps & Arielle Anderer (working paper)
- [Moving Money Around: Mobile Energy Storage and the Value of Geospatial Flexibility](https://christiankaps.com/papers/moving-money-around-mobile-energy-storage.html): Vishrut Rana, Christian Kaps & Serguei Netessine (working paper)
- [OM Grand Challenges: SDG 7 - Managing Decentralized Assets and Actors for the Clean Energy Transition](https://christiankaps.com/papers/om-grand-challenges-sdg7-clean-energy-transition.html): Christian Kaps, Serguei Netessine, Vishrut Rana & Ömer Karaduman (working paper)
- [Charging Fast and Slow: Quantifying the Real-Life Value of EV Charging for Users, OEMs, and the Grid](https://christiankaps.com/papers/charging-fast-and-slow-ev-charging-value.html): Christian Kaps, Thomas S. Palley & Leann Thayaparan (working paper)
- [Are We There Yet? Evaluating the Transition to EVs](https://christiankaps.com/papers/are-we-there-yet-transition-to-evs.html): Christian Kaps, Michael W. Toffel & Ulrich Niklas (working paper, 2026)
- [Southern Company: Powering the Future](https://christiankaps.com/papers/southern-company-powering-the-future.html): Christian Kaps, Hise Gibson, Alicia Dadlani & Ai-Ling Jamila Malone, HBS Case 626-056 (2025)
- [Hurtigruten: Sea Zero](https://christiankaps.com/papers/hurtigruten-sea-zero.html): Christian Kaps & Michael W. Toffel, HBS Case 625-100