Potential for Increasing Electric Vehicle Adoption Through Charging Infrastructure Expansion

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are among the most promising solutions to transportation decarbonization. However, the energy requirements of some travel days cannot be satisfied by an existing, low-cost BEV on a single charge. Such days account for a significant percentage of total personal vehicle use in the United States (US). Expanded charging infrastructure can extend BEVs' functional range. The current literature has not quantified the impact of charging infrastructure on BEV range based on real-world vehicle use patterns at a national level. This research aims to understand the characteristics of “high-energy days” that cannot be served by a BEV on one charge, and how changes in EV charger location, charging power, and battery capacity impact BEVs' daily adoption potential (DAP). It also identifies the kinds of vehicle activity patterns that benefit from improved charging infrastructure. This work finds that vehicle activity on high-energy weekends and weekdays can be characterized into five and six activity patterns respectively. Increase in battery capacity increases DAP, and having multiple charging locations significantly improves DAP. However, increasing charging power at any location has a minimal impact on DAP. Travelers with different vehicle activity patterns benefit differently from charging infrastructure design, and there is potential to achieve near complete elimination of unserved days by BEVs. Insights from this research can help decision-makers plan BEV charging infrastructure and alleviate range anxiety in potential BEV buyers.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADC80 Standing Committee on Alternative Transportation Fuels and Technologies.
• Authors:
  • Wei, Wei
  • Needell, Zachary A
  • Ramakrishnan, Sankaran
  • Trancik, Jessika E
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 7p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Consumer preferences; Electric vehicle charging; Electric vehicles; Infrastructure; Travel behavior
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01657431
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-05011
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jan 24 2018 9:24AM