Analysing the usage and evidencing the importance of fast chargers for the adoption of battery electric vehicles

Myriam Neaimeh,Shawn D Salisbury,Graeme A Hill,Philip T Blythe,Don R Scoffield,James E Francfort

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2017.06.033

Myriam Neaimeh, Shawn D Salisbury + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.06.033

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Journal: Energy Policy	Publication Date: Jun 27, 2017
Citations: 145	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Idaho National Laboratory, Newcastle University

Abstract

An appropriate charging infrastructure is one of the key aspects needed to support the mass adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and it is suggested that publically available fast chargers could play a key role in this infrastructure. As fast charging is a relatively new technology, very little research is conducted on the topic using real world datasets, and it is of utmost importance to measure actual usage of this technology and provide evidence on its importance to properly inform infrastructure planning. 90,000 fast charge events collected from the first large-scale roll-outs and evaluation projects of fast charging infrastructure in the UK and the US and 12,700 driving days collected from 35 BEVs in the UK were analysed. Using multiple regression analysis, we examined the relationship between daily driving distance and standard and fast charging and demonstrated that fast chargers are more influential. Fast chargers enabled using BEVs on journeys above their single-charge range that would have been impractical using standard chargers. Fast chargers could help overcome perceived and actual range barriers, making BEVs more attractive to future users. At current BEV market share, there is a vital need for policy support to accelerate the development of fast charge networks.

Highlights

The transport sector is responsible globally for approximately one quarter of the total energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, with over 70% of these emissions attributed to road transport
The regression results, described showed that both predictors have a statistically significant and positive effect on daily distance at over 95% confidence level and fast charging was determined to be more influential than slow charging
The data from the fast charge networks showed that a typical energy transfer from fast chargers is approximately half of the vehicle battery capacity (Section 3.1)

Summary

Introduction

The transport sector is responsible globally for approximately one quarter of the total energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, with over 70% of these emissions attributed to road transport. To reduce transport related emissions, sustainable mobility plans of many governments worldwide include the need for a substantial shift towards the use of ultra-low carbon emission vehicles such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) (IEA, 2016; Sims, 2014). Policies are implemented in many countries to increase the attractiveness of EVs and potentially their adoption rates (Sierzchula et al, 2014; Silvia and Krause, 2016) These policy mechanisms include providing financial incentives such as purchase subsidies and non-financial incentives such as access to bus lanes, free or dedicated parking spots; raising awareness on EVs; and supporting the development of EV charging infrastructure (Coffman et al, 2017; Egbue and Long, 2012; IEA, 2013; Langbroek et al, 2016; Steinhilber et al, 2013)

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