Developers of charging infrastructure, be it public or private parties, are highly dependent on accurate utilization data in order to make informed decisions where and when to expand charging points. The Amsterdam The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in close cooperation with the municipalities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and the metropolitan region of Amsterdam developed both the back- and front-end of a decision support tool. This paper describes the design of the decision support tool and its DataWareHouse architecture. The back-end is based on a monthly update of charging data with Charge point Detail Records and Meter Values enriched with location specific data. The design of the front-end is based on Key Performance Indicators used in the decision process for charging infrastructure roll-out. Implementing this design and DataWareHouse architecture allows all kinds of EV related companies and cities to start monitoring their charging infrastructure. It provides an overview of how the most important KPIs are being monitored and represented in the decision support tool based on regular interviews and decision processes followed by four major cities and a metropolitan region in the Netherlands.
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With the rise of the number of electric vehicles, the installment of public charging infrastructure is becoming more prominent. In urban areas in which EV users rely on on-street parking facilities, the demand for public charging stations is high. Cities take on the role of implementing public charging infrastructure and are looking for efficient roll-out strategies. Municipalities generally reserve the parking spots next to charging stations to ensure their availability. Underutilization of these charging stations leads to increased parking pressure, especially during peak hours. The city of The Hague has therefore implemented daytime reservation of parking spots next to charging stations. These parking spots are exclusively available between 10:00 and 19:00 for electric vehicles and are accessible for other vehicles beyond these times. This paper uses a large dataset with information on nearly 40.000 charging sessions to analyze the implementation of the abovementioned scheme. An unique natural experiment was created in which charging stations within areas of similar parking pressure did or did not have this scheme implemented. Results show that implemented daytime charging 10-19 can restrict EV owners in using the charging station at times when they need it. An extension of daytime charging to 10:00-22:00 proves to reduce the hurdle for EV drivers as only 3% of charging sessions take place beyond this time. The policy still has the potential to relieve parking pressure. The paper contributes to the knowledge of innovative measures to stimulate the optimized rollout and usage of charging infrastructure.
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In order to apply smart charging it is key to be able to forecast the connection and charging time of charging sessions at the start of the connection. For, if you know how long a session will last, one can assign an appropriate smart charging strategy for that session. For instance by postponing the charging to a moment with lower energy prices or more renewable energy generation. This study presents the work of SIMULAAD in predicting charging and connection times.
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As the Dutch electric vehicle (EV) fleet continues to expand, so will the amount of charging sessions increase. This expanding demand for energy will add on to the already existing strain on the grid, primarily during peak hours on workdays in the early morning and evening. This growing energy demand requires new methods to handle the charging of EVs, to distribute the available energy in the most effective way. Therefore, a large number of ‘smart charging’ initiatives have recently been developed, whereby the charging session of the EV is based on the conditions of the energy grid. However, the term smart charging is used for a variety of smart charging initiatives, often involving different optimization strategies and charging processes. For most practitioners, as well as academics, it is hard to distinguish the large range of smart charging initiatives initiated in recent years, how they differentiate from each other and how they contribute to a smarter charging infrastructure. This paper has the objective to provide an overview of smart charging initiatives in the Netherlands and develop a categorization of smart charging initiatives regarding objectives, proposed measures and intended contributions. We will do so by looking at initiatives that focus on smart charging at a household level, investigating the smart charging possibilities for EV owners who either make use of a private or (semi-)public charging point. The different smart charging initiatives will be analyzed and explicated in combination with a literature study, focusing on the different optimization strategies and requirements to smart charge an electric vehicle.
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The mass adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) might raise pressure on the power system, especially during peak hours. Therefore, there is a need for delayed charging. However, to optimize the charging system, the progression of charging from an empty battery until a full battery of the EVs based on realworld data needs to be analyzed. Many researchers currently view this charging profile as a static load and ignore the actual charging behavior during the charging session. This study investigates how different factors influence the charging profile of individual EVs based on real-world data of charging sessionsin the Netherlands, enabling optimization analysis of EV smart charging schemes.
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Since the first uptake of electric vehicles, policy makers are questioning how to rollout public charging infrastructure in an efficient manner, such that user convenience balances with costs of investment. In some metropolitan areas, the first phase of rollout has been passed, meaning an optimized deployment of future charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) becomes important to improve the charging infrastructure and ensure customer satisfaction and sufficient service provision. Complex system literature shows that network vulnerability is an important metric, yet, charging infrastructure has not yet been a subject of these simulation models so far. This research, based on real-world data, provides a novel approach for improving the roll-out strategy of municipalities, by treating the charge infrastructure as a complex network of charging stations and defining vulnerability in respect to the availability of its surrounding charging stations within relevant walking distance.
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This paper explores current and potential future use of fast charging stations for electric passenger vehicles. The aim of the paper is to analyse current charging patterns at fast charging stations and the role of fast charging among different charging options. These patterns are explored along the lines of the technical capabilities of the vehicles and it is found that with increasing battery capacity the need for fast charging decreases. However, for those vehicles with large charging capacities there are indications that fast charging is perceived as more convenient as these are used more often. Such results indicate a larger share for fast charging if charging capacities increase in the future. Results from a spatial analysis show that most fast charging is done at a considerable distance from home, suggesting mostly ‘on the road’ charging sessions. Some fast charging sessions are relatively close to home, especially for those without private home charging access. This shows some future potential for fast charging in cities with many on-street parking facilities.
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The Netherlands is a frontrunner in the field of public charging infrastructure, having a high number of public charging stations per electric vehicle (EV) in the world. During the early years of adoption (2012-2015) a large percentage of the EV fleet were Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV)due to the subsidy scheme at that time. With an increasing number of Full Electric Vehicles (FEVs) on the market and a current subsidy scheme for FEV only, a transition of the EV fleet from PHEV to FEV is expected. This is hypothesized to have effect on charging behavior of the complete fleet, reason to understand better how PHEVs and FEVs differ in charging behavior and how this impacts charging infrastructure usage. In this paper, the effects of the transition of PHEV to FEV is simulated by extending an existing Agent Based Model. Results show important effects of this transitionon charging infrastructure performance.
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Developers of charging infrastructure, be it public or private parties, are highly dependent on accurate utilization data in order to make informed decisions where and when to expand charging points. The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, in close cooperation with the municipalities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, and the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam Electric, developed both the back- and front-end of a charging infrastructure assessment platform that processes and represents real-life charging data. Charging infrastructure planning and design methods described in the literature use geographic information system data, traffic flow data of non-EV vehicles, or geographical distributions of, for example, refueling stations for combustion engine vehicles. Only limited methods apply real-life charging data. Rolling out public charging infrastructure is a balancing act between stimulating the transition to zero-emission transport by enabling (candidate) EV drivers to charge, and limiting costly investments in public charging infrastructure. Five key performance indicators for charging infrastructure utilization are derived from literature, workshops, and discussions with practitioners. The paper describes the Data Warehouse architecture designed for processing large amounts of charging data, and the web-based assessment platform by which practitioners get access to relevant knowledge and information about the current performance of existing charging infrastructure represented by the key performance indicators developed. The platform allows stakeholders in the decision-making process of charging point installation to make informed decisions on where and how to expand the already existing charging infrastructure. The results are generalizable beyond the case study regions in the Netherlands and can serve the roll-out of charging infrastructure, both public and semi-public, all over the world.
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During the COVID-19—related lockdowns (2020–2022), mobility patterns and charging needs were substantially affected. Policies such as work from home, lockdowns, and curfews reduced traffic and commuting significantly. This global pandemic may have also substantially changed mobility patterns on the long term and therefore the need for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This paper analyzes changes in electric charging in the Netherlands for different user groups during different phases of the COVID-19 lockdown to assess the effects on EV charging needs. Charging needs dropped significantly during this period, which also changed the distribution of the load on the electricity grid throughout the day. Curfews affected the start times of charging sessions during peak hours of grid consumption. Infrastructure dedicated to commuters was used less intensively, and the charging needs of professional taxi drivers were drastically reduced during lockdown periods. These trends were partially observed during a post–lockdown measuring period of roughly 8 months, indicating a longer shift in mobility and charging patterns.
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