A Framework for Analysis and Expansion of Public Charging Infrastructure under Fast Penetration of Electric Vehicles

Fabiano Pallonetto,Marta Galvani,Agostino Torti,Simone Vantini

doi:10.3390/wevj11010018

Fabiano Pallonetto, Marta Galvani + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj11010018

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Abstract

The improvement commercial competitiveness of private electric vehicles supported by the European policy for the decarbonisation of transport and with the consumers awareness-raising about CO2 emissions and climate change, are driving the increase of electric vehicles on the roads. Therefore, public charging networks are facing the challenge of supply electricity to a fast increasing number of electric cars. The objective of this paper is to establish an assessment framework for analysis and monitor of existing charging networks. The developed methodology comprises modelling the charging infrastructure electricity profile, analysing the data by using machine learning models such as functional k-means clustering and defining a novel congestion metric. The described framework has been tested against Irish public charging network historical datasets. The analyses reveal a lack of reliability of the communication network infrastructure, frequent congestion events for commercial and shopping areas in specific clusters of charge points and the presence of power peaks caused by the high number of simultaneous charging events. Several recommendations for future network expansion have been highlighted.

Highlights

In December 2019 the EU has proposed the European Green Deal where the majority of the member states commit to zero net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use
Concerning electrification of private vehicles Ireland has lagged behind its European neighbours with less than 4000 registered Electric Vehicle (EV) accounted for by the end of 2017 and a plug-in market share of just 0.7% of new car sales [5]
A statistical analysis has been carried on the data set, evaluating the network with a time resolution of 5 min and assessing the following four operational parameters: the occupancy profile and the reliability of the network, a power model of the public charging infrastructure, a functional clustering analysis to group charging stations with similar profiles, an evaluation on the congestion events on the basis of the associated cluster and the position detail

Summary

Introduction

In December 2019 the EU has proposed the European Green Deal where the majority of the member states commit to zero net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. Transport accounts for 18% of CO2 emissions (5.85 Gt CO2 ) [1]. The progressive mass electrification of the vehicle fleet has been widely seen as a key policy goal to reduce emissions and pollutants produced from the transport sector’s long-lasting dependence on fossil fuels, which has been seen to create huge impacts at a range of scales, from raising global atmospheric. Electric vehicles have risen in popularity holding from more than 1% market share of new vehicles. Concerning electrification of private vehicles Ireland has lagged behind its European neighbours with less than 4000 registered EVs accounted for by the end of 2017 (from a total vehicle fleet of more than 1.98 million registered passenger cars) and a plug-in market share of just 0.7% of new car sales [5]. By the end of February 2019, the number of EVs in Ireland reached more than 9500, equivalent to +137% with respect to 2017

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