Impacts of technology advancements on electric vehicle charging infrastructure configuration: a Michigan case study

Electric vehicles (EV) are widely seen as a sustainable alternative to gasoline vehicles to decrease emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. However, range anxiety, limited range, long charging time, and insufficient charging infrastructure have affected EVs’ adoption. High-end batteries and chargers can decrease the charging demand and charging time, respectively, and increase the EVs’ market share. Based on a recently developed intercity model, this study investigates the potential impact of different battery and charger technologies on the optimal configuration of charging infrastructure for the Michigan intercity network in 2030. The major contribution of this study is not only considering the effects of a variety of technology advancements on infrastructure requirements but also developing a realistic modeling framework with the consideration of the intercity network of Michigan, using realistic assumptions and parameters calibrated through multiple stakeholders’ meetings. Therefore, the parameters and findings of this study can be used for future studies requiring realistic data. This study finds that the location of charging stations merely depends on the battery capacity while the charging power dictates the required number of chargers. Furthermore, high-tech charging infrastructures showed to be the cheaper option compared to low-tech ones.