Spatial Planning of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure for Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Evaldo Costa,Julia Seixas,Gustavo Costa,Arthur Paiva,Patrícia Baptista,Brian Ó Gallachóir

doi:10.1155/2018/8923245

Abstract

In pursuit of a more sustainable transportation system, electric vehicles (EVs) have the potential to play a fundamental role due to their improved efficiency and lower emissions. The absence of an adequate electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) network has been one of the major obstacles for the mass adoption of EV, in large municipalities of developing countries. This is the case in Belo Horizonte (BH), Brazil, which also has a high motorization rate (7 light-duty vehicles per 10 inhabitants). The purpose of this study is to measure and identify the optimal locations for EVSE according to selected criteria to meet the needs of light-duty electric vehicles (LDEV) corresponding to a penetration of 1% by 2025 in the municipality of BH. The study highlights the most important attributes that need to be considered for the installation of an EVSE network in an urban space for a developing country. Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM), the Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) method, and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique based on the inputs from a group of Brazilian electrical mobility specialists, coupled with a Geographic Information System (GIS) modeling tool, were used for this study. The results revealed that around 1,200 EVSE units are needed, with a large concentration of EVSE in a small region. We also illustrate where stakeholders should focus their attention for the successful promotion of EV. The development methodology has the potential to be applied in other future EVSE development projects.

Highlights

There is a large mobility demand in urban centers
The considered scenarios account for 12,000 units of light-duty electric vehicles (LDEV) by 2025 in Belo Horizonte (BH), corresponding to a total of 1,200 electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE)
The analysis revealed that the suggested areas for installation of the EVSE level 2 (L2) network are contained in 45% of the BH neighborhoods, covering the South-Central and East regions (Figure 5) mainly due to the greater concentration of companies, shopping centers, and public transport connections, attributes that have been well evaluated by the specialists for this type of infrastructure

Summary

Introduction

There is a large mobility demand in urban centers These urban centers hold about 80% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and account for two-thirds of all primary energy consumption and 70% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions [1, 2]. Global transport is responsible for almost a quarter of energy-related emissions [1, 2]. Ethanol has an important role for low carbon transportation in Brazil. Several studies highlight that the agricultural process for producing ethanol can be responsible for considerable problems such as ecotoxicity, soil acidification, and human toxicity among others [5, 6]. Other studies suggest that the competition from the production of ethanol with food is another substantial problem [8,9,10]

Objectives

Results

Conclusion