Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a dynamic programming model to help upgrade user access to electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and also considers uncertainties in charging demand, charger availability, and charging rate
Globally, there is a huge demand for EVs. But there are a few challenges that restrain people from investing in Electric vehicles like the availability of a charging station, the cost of using the charging station, the waiting time to access a charging station, etc. Therefore, researchers have developed a technique that considers all of these factors in a complex computational model that implements a game theory framework, to make EVs more attractive for drivers.
“We already know that there is a need for EV charging networks that are flexible, to support the adoption of EVs,” says Leila Hajibabai, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an assistant professor in NC State’s Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. “That’s because there is tremendous variability in when and where people want to charge their vehicles, how much time they can spend at a charging station, how long it takes to charge their vehicles, and so on.
The model involves two things, initially, it assists users to find the nearest charging facility that would meet their demand. Secondly, it consists of a dynamic system that can be used by charging station operators to monitor how long vehicles can spend at a charging station before they need to make way for the next vehicle. For example, a user’s nearest available charging facility may change, depending on whether any spaces are available. And the number of time users can spend at a charging station may change from day to day to reflect the reality of how people are using different charging facilities.
“There’s no clear real-world benchmark that we can use to assess the extent to which our technique would improve user access to charging facilities,” Hajibabai says. “But in simulations, the technique did improve user access. The simulations also suggest that flexibility in when charging station slots are available was a key predictor of which stations users would visit.
Hajibabai concludes by saying “A next step would be to work with existing charging station networks to pilot the technique and assess its performance in a real-world setting.”
Click here for the Published Research Paper
