Energy Efficiency in Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Its Impact on Total Cost of Ownership

Abstract

There is an increasing awareness, policies and an incentive landscape, which are encouraging and starting to shape future transport as part of a wider ecosystem of infrastructure, use, behaviour and sustainability. However, one of the main barriers for the wider uptake by both fleet and individual users of electric vehicles is the concern of the uncertainties of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). This contribution is based on a mix of original modelling, simulation and laboratory experimentation studies as well as a review of the academic and policy literature. It focuses on vehicle design and the battery and energy management in electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (EV/PHEV). EV users express concerns about the longevity of the electric battery and hence the life cycle (especially with frequent fast charging), which amounts to a major part of the costs and value of the vehicle. Using the battery to provide ancillary services will add more value to the EV and reduce the effective TCO.