Multi-stage layout strategies of intercity charging and swapping infrastructure for electric logistics vehicles: random, radical, or conservative?

Abstract

The arrangement of charging infrastructure has become an urgent issue as electric logistics vehicles (ELVs) transition from urban areas to intercity operations. In this study, we established a multi-stage layout model for intercity charging and swapping infrastructure (CSI) based on the travel characteristics of electric logistics vehicles, to minimize the investment cost of operators and the time cost of vehicle users in Hubei Province, China. Furthermore, the effect of “random”, “conservative”, and “radical” layout strategies for the infrastructure deployment was analyzed based on an improved genetic algorithm. It is found that the random layout strategy leads to a balance between infrastructure operators and users with the lowest total cost, which is 81.2% and 88.8% of the costs based on the radical strategy and the conservative strategy, respectively. The conservative strategy could reduce investment risks for operators with the lowest investment cost, while the radical strategy prioritizes the convenience of electric logistics vehicles, with the lowest user time cost. The case study suggests that choosing conservative strategies can bring benefits when the budget is limited, while radical strategies have more advantages when the budget is abundant. Random strategies bring the best overall social benefits. The configuration of CSI and travel characteristics of ELVs play important roles in determining layout strategies.