Electric vehicle entire-trip navigation and charging reservation method based on a high-speed communication network

Abstract

Having a large number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road will lead to vehicle congestion, long waiting times at charging stations (CSs), and even the inability to find an available charging position. Main technical challenges in mobile EVs charging may include charging information exchanges between EVs and CSs, EV traveling route and CS selection, and EV charging planning. To solve the above problems, this study provides an optimization solution for entire-trip charging and navigation of EVs, which balances charging resources, protects the travel time of EV drivers, and prioritizes renewable energy. The communication scheme of an EV charging network is designed, including real-time communication between the CSs, EV drivers, road condition monitoring center, power grid company, and the charging control center distributed in every parking lot. CSs in each road segment sort vehicles arriving at stations, allocate charging time slots, provide charging start times, and adjust those times for EVs with reservations that have not yet arrived. EV drivers can plan vehicle charging on their smart devices. The optimization of electric navigation can reduce the travel time or cost for drivers, ensure safe electricity usage, calculate vehicle routes, select CSs, and provide charging time intervals. The effectiveness of the method is verified on a regional road network in China, and the results show that it can balance the charging resource distribution of a CS, guarantee EV state of charge level, greatly reduce travel cost or travel time, provide precise waiting time, and prioritize renewable energy.