Optimal location of battery electric vehicle charging stations in urban areas: A new approach

摘要

Battery electric vehicles (BEV) are increasingly seen as one of the most suitable alternatives to internal combustion engine vehicles. An important issue involved in the dissemination of BEV relates with the deployment of the respective charging network and, in particular, with the locations of charging stations. Typically, the locations selected correspond to popular places such as city centers, shopping areas, train stations, and university campuses. Although these places are highly visible, the low parking times and high rotation rates often observed there could deliver an inadequate solution for the daily charging needs of users. In this article, a new approach to determine the location of BEV charging stations in urban areas is proposed. The approach relies on a detailed analysis of BEV charging needs, charging coverage, and adoption potential, as well as on an innovative type of location-allocation model. The usefulness of the approach is demonstrated for a set of hypothetical instances replicating the essential ingredients of real-world charging station location problems.